By Abigail W. Adams
Approximately 25 volunteer firefighters from six departments quickly extinguished a fire in the basement of a vacant house on Old County Road in Wiscasset. (Abigail Adams photo) |
An electrical fault in a light bulb fixture in the basement was the determined cause of the fire at 16 Old County Road in Wiscasset, Thursday, June 25, Wiscasset Fire Chief T.J. Merry said.
Approximately 25 volunteer firefighters from six communities quickly extinguished the basement fire in the vacant house in Wiscasset reported minutes before 8 p.m.
According to Wiscasset Assistant Fire Chief Nick Merry, the department’s Safety Officer Tim Merry, who lives nearby and saw smoke coming from the building, reported the fire.
Wiscasset, Alna, Dresden, Westport Island, Woolwich, and Bath fire departments responded to the scene, in addition to the Wiscasset Ambulance Service. The Edgecomb Fire Department provided station coverage for Wiscasset.
The fire was knocked out in approximately 10 minutes, assistant chief Merry said.
“Another big huge thanks to our mutual aid companies,” chief Merry said. According to Merry, two interior attack teams entered the smoke filled building and climbed down a flight of stairs in order to extinguish the flames.
“The attack teams did a great job,” chief Merry said. “Basic fires are always trickier.”
The fire was limited to the basement but the first and second floors suffered smoke damage, chief Merry said. The Fire Marshal’s Office was on the scene at approximately 10:30 p.m. to determine the cause.
The fire was ruled accidental, chief Merry said.
According to chief Merry, the house is owned by Tim Swinburne who was in the process of renovating it. Swinburne had not been in the building for the 24 hours leading up to the fire, chief Merry said.
The house was insured, chief Merry said.
The scene was cleared in approximately two hours, chief Merry said.
