A fire caused by an electrical malfunction tore through a West Alna Road home in Alna the night of Wednesday, Oct. 21. The fire originated in an exterior wall of the living room of 855 West Alna Rd. and progressed up the wall and into the roof, State Fire Marshal’s Office Sgt. Ken Grimes said.
The Alna Fire Department was paged to the fire at approximately 9:30 p.m., Chief Mike Trask said.
Flames were burning through two areas of the roof and the ell when firefighters arrived at the scene, Trask said. The Wiscasset, Newcastle, Jefferson, and Whitefield fire departments, in addition to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Wiscasset Ambulance Service, also responded.
Homeowner Brian Long grew up in the house, however, the house was unoccupied at the time of the fire, Trask said. The house was under renovation, Grimes said.
The house may be considered a total loss, Trask said. While the ell connecting the house to the garage is destroyed, the structure of the house is still intact; however, it sustained significant water damage, Trask said. The home was insured, he said.
According to Trask, firefighters formed teams and fought the fire from the front of the house, the back of the house, and from inside the structure. The interior attack team was pulled from the building when the roof was determined to be too weak, Trask said.
It took approximately 20 minutes to get the fire under control, Trask said. Firefighters worked to put out ‘hot spots” in the building for approximately four more hours. The scene was cleared around 2 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 22, Trask said.
“Everyone that responded did a good job,” Trask said. “We worked well together.”
Trask returned to the scene Thursday morning with State Fire Marshal’s Office Investigator Mary MacMaster, who worked to determine the cause of the fire.
