DRESDEN, Maine — A home on Middle Road in Dresden was gutted in a fire that was reported shortly after 11 a.m. Friday.
The house at 606 Middle Road was fully involved with flames shooting through the roof when firefighters arrived, said Sonia Lilly, the Dresden Fire Department’s accountability officer.
The house is “probably a total loss,” Lilly said. There was no one home at the time of the blaze, but a cat and a dog that were inside the building remain unaccounted for, she said. The fire was reported by neighbors.
A shed behind the house may have melted siding, but was otherwise undamaged, Lilly said.
Donald E. and Linda L. Moody own the house, according to tax records.
The Dresden, Pittston, Richmond, Wiscasset and Woolwich fire departments responded to the scene, along with Gardiner Fire & Rescue, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Wiscasset Ambulance Service.
Dresden Third Selectman Allan Moeller said the response from mutual-aid towns was “amazing.”
“In the middle of the day to have this many people here … what an amazing response,” Moeller said.
Exterior attack teams of firefighters knocked down the flames in about 20 minutes, Lilly said. Overhaul to find and extinguish hot spots is expected to take several more hours.
The area around the fire was closed to through traffic. Traffic was being diverted to Route 218, which runs parallel to Middle Road, or Route 127.
The cause of the fire is unknown, Lilly said. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.