Electrical fire claims Wiscasset mobile home

Sat, 06/13/2015 - 11:15am

An electrical fire that started at an outlet destroyed a mobile home on Wiscasset’s Cronks Lane, off West Alna Road on Saturday, fire officials said.

The cause of the June 13 fire was determined when a representative of Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office examined the scene on Monday, Wiscasset Fire Chief T.J. Merry said Tuesday.

Firefighters from Dresden, Edgecomb, Alna, Westport Island and Woolwich helped Wiscasset firefighers put out the fire at 14 Cronks Lane.

The fire was reported at about 10:20 a.m. Saturday. Assistant Wiscasset Fire Chief Nick Merry said that when he got there, he saw flames at the front door and at a large window.

Carla Chapman said she was at work at her Wiscasset General Store when her brother, the home’s owner, Charles “Mike” Fiore, called to tell her about the fire. She said her brother and his wife Tammy live there. Ray Soule, also on the scene, said he owns the land the home sits on.

No one was hurt and the family had no pets, according to officials and Chapman.

Neighbor Marc Maldovan said he was working outside on his lobster boat when he saw black smoke.

“There was quite a bit,” he said. He ran down and saw that Fiore was outside the home, and unhurt, he said.

Chief Merry said Fiore reported that he was outside the home when he saw a haze; then there were a couple of explosions and the fire. Fiore did not try to enter the home; that was the right decision, Merry said.

In addition to the fire departments, Wiscasset police and Wiscasset Ambulance Service responded to the scene. The ambulance service was providing relief to firefighters and checking their blood pressure, Wiscasset Ambulance Service Director Roland Abbott said.

No firefighters were hurt, Chief Merry said. The heat was brutal to deal with for the firefighters in their gear, he said. He called their work at the scene and the lack of injuries an example of the various departments working well together.

Chapman believes the home was insured. The Red Cross will be assisting the family, Merry said.