ELLSWORTH, Maine — An elderly man has died as a result of a house fire Tuesday morning at 344 Surry Road.
Officials were not releasing the name of the deceased until family could be notified.
About noon, relatives were gathering at an antique business next to the scene of the fire, which damaged a white, two-story clapboard house. The man was found inside the house on the first floor, Sgt. Scott Richardson of the state fire marshal’s office said.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, which was reported by a passer-by about 10:45 a.m., Richardson said. Firefighters and fire marshal investigators examined the damage to try to determine the origin of the blaze.
“We’re still in the early stages of the investigation at this point,” Richardson said.
Fire damage was confined to the living room of the house, which is where the man’s body was found by firefighters, according a press release issued Tuesday afternoon by Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Stephen McCausland.
“The Fire Department did an excellent job and left us a lot to work with,” Richardson said.
Some of the windows were broken and the clapboards above them were charred. A sign over the door displays the number 1850, likely the year the house was built. Charred furniture had been pulled out onto the front lawn.
“Most of the family has been notified,” Richardson said. “They are taking it pretty hard, as you would expect. We’re going to be at the scene here for quite some time.”
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