Waldoboro Fire Destroys Shed, Damages Mobile Home

A structure fire in Waldoboro destroyed a shed and part of a mobile home on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

The Lincoln County Communications Center paged the Waldoboro Fire Department and Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services at 8:17 p.m. for a report of a structure fire at lot 16 in the Brookside Mobile Home Park on Friendship Road.

When the Waldoboro Fire Department arrived on scene, a shed was completely consumed with flames that were starting to spread to the nearby mobile home, according to Waldoboro Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer.

“(The fire) consumed the building and then caught other equipment on fire and then spread to the house,” Smeltzer said. “It had already burned up the exterior of the (mobile home) and was working inside through the eaves.”

According to Smeltzer, both residents of the mobile home were able to escape the building safely without injury.

According to Smeltzer, the fire was caused by equipment in the adjacent shed a resident of lot 16 was doing maintenance on. Smeltzer said the resident was actively working on the equipment when the fire started.

The shed was a total loss, along with a four-wheeler and a snowmobile near the building, according to Smeltzer. One half of the mobile home was a “complete loss” while contents of the mobile home on the opposite end of the fire were able to be salvaged, Smeltzer said.

The Maine State Fire Marshal responded to the scene and ruled the fire accidental, Smeltzer said.

The Bremen, Nobleboro, Jefferson, Damariscotta, Friendship, and Warren fire departments provided mutual aid on scene. According to Smeltzer, the scene was cleared at 11:02 p.m.

Smeltzer said the sooner residents call the emergency services in the event of a fire, the better the response can be.

“Fire doubles in size every 60 seconds, so time is a factor with us being volunteer fire departments in our area,” he said. “The longer people take to call us, the larger that fire is going to grow.”