A mobile home at Brookside Mobile Home Park in Waldboro was fully involved when emergency responders arrived on scene shortly after midnight on Saturday, May 20. (photo courtesy Waldboro Police Department)
‘Fire destroyed a mobile home in Waldoboro early Saturday, May 20, displacing two residents. Kathy Harriman and Douglas Barter rented the home at 4 Brookside Mobile Home Park, off Route 220, but were out of state at the time of the fire, neighbors said.
Neighbors reported the fire raging through the house at about 12:20 a.m.
The couple did not have renters insurance, according to Sgt. Joel Davis, of the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Flames rise from propane tanks behind a mobile home at Brookside Mobile Home Park in Waldoboro as firefighters work to prevent the spread of the fire to neighboring structures early Saturday, May 20. (Abigail Adams photo)
The American Red Cross is assisting the couple with food, temporary housing, and financial assistance, according to a press release. The Red Cross will stay in contact with the couple in the coming days and provide financial assistance and community referrals.
The fire is believed to have originated in the area of the master bedroom and bathroom, Davis said. Due to the extent of the damage, investigators were unable to determine the cause. A cat perished in the fire.
“The fire was burning in the back (of the mobile home) and flames were dancing on the roof” when neighbor John Taylor reported the fire, he said.
The home was fully involved when firefighters arrived, Waldoboro Deputy Fire Chief Dale Smith said. There were two propane tanks in the back of the mobile home. Firefighters allowed them to vent until they went out.
The fire melted the trim of the neighboring mobile home and melted the bumper off a white Pontiac parked in the driveway, but did not spread to neighboring structures.
The Waldoboro Fire Department, with mutual aid from Cushing, Friendship, and Warren, responded to the scene, in addition to the Waldoboro Ambulance Service and the Waldoboro Police Department. The Nobleboro Fire Department provided station coverage for Waldoboro.
Firefighters were tearing down the walls and beginning overhaul at 1:30 a.m., with flames still burning underneath the mobile home, Smith said.
Route 220 was reduced to a single lane of traffic as firefighters worked at the scene.
