Authorities are investigating what may have been a suspicious fire in a Dresden home the morning of May 7.
The fire was contained to the basement of the home at 729 Middle Road and was mostly extinguished by the time fire crews arrived on scene because the heat of the flames caused a water pipe to burst, according to Richmond Fire Chief Matt Roberge. The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes of their arrival, he said.
“We were able to stop it real quick thanks to the plumbing inside,” Roberge said.
At least 11 fire trucks represented Dresden, Richmond, Pittston, Wiscasset, West Bath, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham by responding to the fire.
Robert Armstrong, who lives in the home with his wife Lori and their four children, said the family had just finished repairs to the home following an electrical fire last November which caused around $10,000 in damage.
Armstrong said he had set off flea bombs in the home the morning of May 7, but they had unplugged everything.
Roberge said he had no indication as to the cause of the fire, but the State Fire Marshal’s Office would be performing an investigation.
Two detectives from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene to investigate the possibly suspicious fire, according to LCSO’s Major Ken Mason.
A neighbor, Stephanie Haskell, was walking along Middle Road when she smelled and then saw smoke coming from the home. After she called 9-1-1, the page for the fire departments went out at about 10:45 a.m.
Meanwhile another neighbor, Karen Moody, went into the home and rescued the owners’ cat and dog.
“They’d do it for me,” Moody said.
