CASTLE HILL, Maine — A fire that broke out Sunday morning burned down a house on Route 227 in Castle Hill.
A spark from a welding job a resident was doing in the garage of 1961 State Road caused the fire. Wind spread the fire to the house, which was deemed a total loss, according to Mapleton, Castle Hill, and Chapman Fire Chief Adam Rider.
The Mapleton, Castle Hill, and Chapman Fire Department responded to the call at 10:11 a.m. Sunday, and fire crews from Presque Isle and Washburn assisted during the blaze, which lasted six hours. The fire crews did a defensive attack to successfully contain the fire with no occupants inside at the time.
“With the conditions that we had with the cold weather and ice [I’d say] we handled it well,” Rider said. “We had a lot of tankers hauling water back and forth, so it put a lot of ice on the State Road.”
The fire was under control after three to four hours, and fire crews left the scene after it was extinguished at 4:13 p.m., Rider said. The temperature during the fire was in the mid-teens.
No injuries were reported.
The American Red Cross has been notified of the situation and is reaching out to the four residents for assistance, Rider said. State police handled the traffic on Route 227 as the fire burned during the brutal winter cold.