A shed that accidentally caught fire at a mobile home park in Wiscasset the evening of Feb. 11 burned so strongly that it broke several windows and warped and discolored the metal siding of the mobile home beside it.
Bonnie Lane, 59, is the owner of both the shed that burned and the mobile home at Lot 21 of 285 Birch Point Road.
On Feb. 12 Lane said she owed the survival of her home to the efforts of others in the park. “I have good neighbors,” she said.
One of those neighbors, Carrie Prive, said when she and her boyfriend, Robert Greenleaf, returned to their home that evening, Greenleaf sprung immediately into action.
Seeing Lane’s heating fuel tank only about 12 feet away from the blaze, Greenleaf started shoveling snow onto the tank to keep it cool, Prive said. Other neighbors soon joined in to shovel snow on the shed itself, she said.
Despite the high temperature and proximity to the flames, Greenleaf didn’t sustain any injuries. “When he came out, his face was all sweaty; hair was missing off his arms – it was singed,” Prive said.
Ronald Williams, 41, Tylor Miller, 18, Amanda Bisson, 18, and a 2-month-old child were occupying the mobile home at the time of the fire, according to Wiscasset Police Chief Troy Cline.
Williams allegedly admitted to dropping a cigarette butt inside the shed, and gas cans reportedly stored inside the shed may have contributed to the fire, according to Cline. No charges are expected, Cline said.
Red Cross of Maine volunteer Andrew Eckman, of Bremen, responded to help meet the immediate disaster-related needs of the occupants, according to a press release.
Among other things stored in the shed, Lane said she lost a lot of tools and materials for making crafts, something she does in the winter to sell at area shows.
All told, Lane estimates her loss at around $8-10,000.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Lane said. “I haven’t figured it out yet, but when I do, I’ll let you know.”
