A fast response by Waldoboro rescue crews and a little heroism on the part of Waldoboro Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer saved the life a Waldoboro woman.
Deborah Miller’s home on Winslows Mills Road caught fire some time before 7 p.m. on March 1. The first firefighter on scene, Smeltzer saw nothing but flames through the trailer’s window.
Smetlzer found Miller unconscious in her kitchen. He withdrew from the fire, told crews at the scene what he had found, and re-entered the building once again. Opening the door gave oxygen to the fire, which caused flames to spread rapidly into the kitchen, Smeltzer said.
Smeltzer pulled Miller to the doorway where EMS crews picked her up and brought to Miles Memorial Hospital and later to Maine Medical Center. She is still alive, Smeltzer said in a telephone interview on March 2.
“She’s alive today because of a tremendous team effort,” Smeltzer said. Without Waldoboro Police Det. Lance Mitchell at the scene talking to neighbors – a neighbor informed them that Miller was still in the house, likely saving her life – and the EMS crews ready at the door, she might not have made it. “It was everybody; everybody responded perfectly.”
Miller lived alone and was the only one home when the fire broke out; no one else was injured in the blaze. Her two dogs and a cat have since been found and are alive and well, Smeltzer said.
Firefighters from Waldoboro, Warren, Jefferson and Nobleboro responded to the scene.
All four walls and the roof are still standing. “The fire crews did an awesome job,” Smeltzer said. Although the home is “a total loss,” the remains will help “tremendously” to determine the cause of the fire, he said.
The cause of the fire is unknown. Although it is not being treated as suspicious, the state fire marshal’s office is investigating.
