RANGELEY — State fire investigators ruled Monday that a fire that heavily damaged a home at 3963 Main St. Sunday night was accidental and the probable cause is an electrical origin, fire Chief Tim Pellerin said Monday.
Firefighters from three towns were able to keep a fire contained to a bedroom in the finished basement of Mike Koob’s home in Oquossoc, he said.
The bedroom and two walk-in closets used for storage received fire damage while the upper three levels of the home received heavy smoke damage.
Pellerin estimated the damage was well in excess of $150,000, he said.
The fire started in the bedroom in the basement, he said.
About 30 firefighters from Rangeley, Eustis and Phillips responded to the 6:38 p.m. fire call.
Koob who had been gone since 7 a.m., returned home to discover the fire and reported it, Pellerin said. Another family member left at 11 a.m. to go on a business trip.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from all windows and eves of the three-story house, he said.
There were no injuries. A pet dog escaped from the house through a doggy-door.
The crew did a fantastic job, Pellerin said. They knocked it down quickly and kept it from spreading to the upper levels, he said.
“They all worked well together,” he said.
They followed their training and did exactly what they were supposed to do in what he termed a textbook fire.
Deputy Chief Steve Grant led an aggressive interior attack while Capt. Dennis Marquis assumed incident command. Pellerin was not home at the time of the fire and returned as firefighters were working on it.
The family lost a lot of personal possessions that could not be saved, he said.
The house is insured. There were working smoke detectors in the house that were heard by firefighters as they arrived at the scene, he said.
The family is staying with relatives and friends.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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