The woman who died in this week’s blaze in the Hancock County town of Great Pond was a member of the volunteer fire department in a neighboring community.
Marie Robbins, 35, grew up on Mount Desert Island and was a 2007 graduate of MDI High School. She also was a lifelong equestrian who enjoyed barrel racing, in which horseback riders try to get the best time while galloping in tight turns around a course of 55-gallon drums.
The Aurora Volunteer Fire Department on Thursday described Robbins as one of its “newest and most enthusiastic members.”
The fire broke out at Robbins’ Old Dam Way home early Monday morning.
When firefighters arrived, they discovered two bodies — later identified as Robbins and 38-year-old Ryan Devisme of Aurora — in the rubble, according to Maine State Police Lt. Aaron Turcotte.
Turcotte said Thursday that the fire remains under investigation, but he described the deaths of Robbins and Devisme as “suspicious.”
It took DNA testing for authorities to confirm their identities.
“We did the unthinkable when we responded early Monday morning to her residence in Great Pond and found it mostly gone when we arrived,” the Aurora fire department said.
“We mourn the loss of Marie, who was [a] wonderful member, and our hearts go out to her family and friends. May we all find peace some day,” the department said.
Robbins, who owned two horses, had been a frequent competitor in Maine’s barrel racing circuit, though she had raced less in recent years, according to friends. The horses were not hurt in the fire.
“She was a kind and gentle soul,” said Emily Sears, who photographed Robbins and other competitors at barrel races.
Robbins also worked at Lunaform, a company in Sullivan that makes large ornamental concrete pots by hand. She worked there for a decade, serving as operations and color studio manager for the past four years, staffers said.
Attempts Friday to contact Robbins’ family and to find additional information about Devisme were unsuccessful.
