LEWISTON — Fire investigators said the cause of a blaze that burned a mattress, pillows and a laptop computer in an upstairs bedroom Friday morning remains under investigation.
Jessica Gould called 911 shortly before 9:15 a.m. to report the fire in her son’s room at their cape-style home at 14 Brule St.
The boy’s laptop was on top of the bed and plugged into a wall socket. The fire burned two body pillows, a blanket and the mattress, Fire Inspector Paul Ouellette said.
“It’s hard to say if the laptop shorted out,” he said. “But the fire happened in the area of the laptop on top of the bed.”
Ouellette said the electrical outlet and the laptop plug appeared to be working properly.
Firefighters knocked out a bedroom window to ventilate the area. The fire was brought under control within 20 minutes, officials said.
No injuries were reported.
Ouellette said Gould had just stepped out of the shower when she heard her dog barking. A smoke alarm in the hallway had begun to sound and she could see black smoke coming from her son’s bedroom, he said.
She fled from the house with the dog, went to a neighbor’s home and called 911, he said. She had been the only person in the house at the time.
Flames damaged the wall and ceiling near the mattress, and there was extensive smoke damage to the second-floor bedroom, Ouellette said. He estimated damage at between $5,000 and $10,000. The home was insured.
The family is not able to stay in the house at this time.
This is the second fire reported in that home in two years, Ouellette said. In April 2017, firefighters responded to a washing machnine fire in the laundry room, he said.
Ouellette said homeowners should shovel out snow from both exits of their home this time of year.
“Nobody does that,” he said. “They make houses with two doors now for a reason.”
This not only allows for family’s to escape a burning house more easily but also helps fire crews fight a blaze and ambulance crews get into a home for a medical emergency.
“In an emergency situation, they’re wasting valuable time for us to try to get in that front door,” he said.
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