A man had to walk a mile in a foot of snow while barefoot to get help after his house caught fire in Montville on Wednesday.
The 70 year old man told local firefighters the fire started while he was loading a wood stove in his home at the top of Hogback Mountain, according to Montville Fire Chief John York. York declined to release the man’s name.
The man lost his cell phone in the fire and wasn’t able to call for help until he reached his nearest neighbor after an hour of walking barefoot down the road. It wasn’t clear Wednesday afternoon why the man was unable to put his shoes on before he fled the house.
“That was not a fun trip,” York said.
When emergency services arrived on the scene, only four feet of the house’s charred walls remained standing, York said. Thanks to the snow, the fire did not spread to the nearby woods. By the end, only the stone foundation remained.
“It’s just a pile of rubble now,” York said.
York said the man sustained minor burns. York also suspects the man could have developed a case of hypothermia from the walk in the snow, though he is awaiting confirmation from medical officials.
The man has since been brought to Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast, he said.