A structure fire on East Pittston Road in Dresden destroyed a family home Tuesday afternoon.
Homeowner Joseph Dowling said his partner, Taylor Alley, saw smoke coming from one of the children’s rooms before flames engulfed the log cabin style home shortly after 1:30 p.m.
Dowling and Alley share four children, ages six, four, and three-month-old twins.
Eight departments responded to the call for mutual aid. Wiscasset, Pittston, Randolph, Woolwich, Alna, West Bath, and Edgecomb all sent units to the scene. Bowdoinham stood by at Dresden’s fire station.
According to Dresden Fire Chief Gerald Lilly, things went smoothly at the scene. The eight departments and 40 or so firefighters were not hampered by the confines of the narrow dirt road, nor the traffic caused by the equipment provided by the eight departments.
At the end of East Pittston Road LCSO Deputy Bryan Collamore directed traffic.
“It went well,” Lilly said of the effort. “Mutual aid worked great. Everybody knew what to do.”
Lilly said his department was able to clear the scene around 6 p.m. The Fire Marshal made a same day visit to the site, Lilly said, adding the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Responders were recalled to the scene after the fire rekindled around 10 p.m. Lilly said. Dresden responded, supported by tankers from Wiscasset and Richmond. Firefighters were able to clear the scene for the second time around midnight, Lilly said.
While firefighters battled the blaze during the afternoon, Dowling, Alley and their children took comfort with family and neighbors next door.
“I’m in shock,” Dowling said. “Everything we had was right there.”
Dowling said he personally built about 80 percent of his home. He added that he always dreamed of living in a log cabin, having grown up in one himself. The losses include toys and school supplies for the Dowling’s six-year-old daughter, car seats and supplies for the couple’s three-month-old twins.
Also lost was Dowling’s Jeep, which was parked next to the house. “They wouldn’t allow her to go in and get the keys,” Dowling said. “It must have been a hell of a risk.”
