RANGELEY — About 35 firefighters from five departments fought a Thursday morning fire that destroyed a two-story log home at 3 Furbish Road. State fire investigators are helping Rangeley fire Chief Tim Pellerin to determine the cause.
There were no injuries. However, a couple of firefighters slipped on the ice and fell but are OK, he said.
Pellerin estimated the loss at at least $800,000 and said the home is insured. The building is still standing, but the inside is charred and burnt, he said. The first and second floors received heavy fire damage and the contents are destroyed, he said.
The house was unoccupied at the time. The owners, whose names were not readily available, are on their way from Massachusetts, Pellerin said. He was still at the scene at 2:15 p.m.
A passerby reported flames coming from the building at 7:06 a.m., he said. Firefighters from Rangeley, Eustis, Farmington, Phillips and Strong were called in to fight the blaze.
Log home fires are really hard to fight because they hold an intense amount of heat, Pellerin said. When Rangeley firefighters made the first attack, they were forced out by the heat and fire, he said.
The house was vented and they were able to get in to try to stop the fire. Help arrived from mutual aid departments.
The fire appears to have started on the first floor and it extended to the second floor of the house that has cathedral ceilings. It was a vacation home, he said.
“It was a great job by everybody. I’m very thankful for mutual aid,” he said.
Without the additional firefighters “we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” he said.
An insurance representative was at the scene Thursday.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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