By Dominik Lobkowicz
Waldoboro Police Officer Tom Bartunek (right) talks with Shawn Day at the scene of a mobile home fire on Gross Neck Road Sept. 2. According to Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer, Day was burning debris next to the trailer when the fire got away from him. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
A mobile home that was being dismantled on Gross Neck Road in Waldoboro went up in flames the night of Sept. 2 after a permitted burn nearby spread to the trailer, according to Waldoboro Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer.
Shawn Day, a Nobleboro resident who is planning to have another trailer delivered to the Gross Neck Road site Sept. 7, had a burn permit he purchased online through the Maine Forest Service, Smeltzer said Sept. 3.
“He was burning a pile of clean debris next to the trailer that they were demolishing. That fire got away from him, and got into the trailer they were dismantling,” Smeltzer said.
When the fire got away from Day, he had a neighbor call the fire department, Smeltzer said.
It was not an intentional burn of the trailer, Smeltzer said.
Forest Ranger Scott Maddox came to the scene and met with Day, Smeltzer said.
“There was a summons issued, but the ranger got called away while I was still working on the fire, so I didn’t meet with him to know exactly what the summons was for,” Smeltzer said.
John Bott, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, confirmed Day was issued a summons by a forest ranger, but said he was unable to comment further because the incident is under investigation.
Waldoboro Fire Department was paged out to the fire at 9:23 p.m., but the mobile home was fully engulfed by the time emergency responders arrived on scene.
The Lincoln County News will continue following this story.
Correction: An earlier edition of this story incorrectly stated Day lived next door to the site of the fire. He lives in Nobleboro, but is planning to have a trailer delivered to the location on Gross Neck Road on Sept. 7. The Lincoln County News regrets the error.
