As firefighters and EMTs, Samantha Perkins and Ryan Philbrook are usually the ones helping other people. But now the community is rallying around the young couple in the wake of a fire that destroyed their new home in Prospect, just as they were moving in.
The fire started early Sunday, most likely when lightning struck a tree and then arced to the couple’s home, igniting it, Perkins says.
The couple was sleeping at Perkins’ parents’ house in Searsport when she awoke at around 2:45 a.m. to repeated alerts on her phone, which was linked to cameras she had set up at the property.
“I look at the cameras and it’s just on fire,” she said.
At first she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming. But then she snapped to. “I was like, ‘oh no, our house is actually on fire right now.”
She called 911.
“It was really weird to be the one calling, giving dispatch the information and then to hear it go out over the radio,” she said. “It was kind of surreal.”
Perkins comes from a firefighting family. Her grandfather was the captain of the Stockton Springs Fire Department and her father fills the role now. Her mother was a firefighter and then became the fire department’s secretary after having kids. Perkins and Philbrook are both firefighters for Prospect and work for the Stockton Springs Ambulance Department.
The last several weeks have had extreme highs and lows, Perkins said. Philbrook, Perkins and her father all responded to the Robbins Lumber mill fire and explosion in Searsmont on May 15, which resulted in fatal injuries for two firefighters and injured 10 other people. They knew many of the people involved in the fire.
“It was definitely kind of life-changing seeing how fast everything can just happen,” she said. “It was something you could never, never imagine is going to happen in your community.”
On June 19, Perkins and Philbrook got engaged. Last week, they received notifications that they had passed their national registry exams to become EMTs. “I got mine Wednesday, he got his on Friday,” Perkins said. “And then on Saturday, our house burned down.”
The couple had planned to sleep at their new home on Saturday night, but couldn’t because Perkins’ father wasn’t able to finish fixing the plumbing because he needed a part.
When they realized the home was on fire, Perkins and Philbrook rushed to the scene. The fire was lighting up the foggy night.
“It was an orange glow,” Perkins said. The home was engulfed in flames and the propane tanks were offgassing, shooting off flames.
Philbrook and Perkins’ brother were among the firefighters from Stockton Springs and Prospect who put out the blaze.
“Once everything calmed down, the emotions kind of hit us,” Perkins said.
“We’re just really thankful that we weren’t there,” she said. “Someone was definitely looking out for us.”
The couple lost books, a good amount of furniture, tools that they and their family members had been using to renovate the home. A fundraiser set up by Perkins’ mother had raised almost $8000 by late Tuesday afternoon.
Perkins said she’s deeply thankful for the community’s support and for the first responders from Stockton Springs and Prospect.
“Knowing they’re in our community and that we have such great people helping is an amazing feeling,” she said.