Minor smoke damage at Wiscasset home

Firefighters unable to find cause
Fri, 09/19/2014 - 1:45am

    A bedroom of a Lowelltown Road, Wiscasset, home sustained minor smoke damage for an unknown reason early Sept. 19, Wiscasset Fire Chief T.J. Merry said.

    Wiscasset and Alna firefighters went to the small ranch home at 129 Lowelltown Road, on a report of smoke inside the house.

    Wiscasset police also responded. The call came in at about 12:20 a.m. Friday, Merry said. Two people were in the home at the time, including its owner Norman Carlson. Carlson said he had been watching television when he smelled smoke and called for the fire department.

    All emergency workers cleared the scene just before 2 a.m. without finding a source of the smoke, even with extensive use of the Alna Fire Department’s thermal imaging camera. Wiscasset’s is down, Merry said.

    Wiscasset Police Sgt. Kathy Williams said that when she arrived, no flames or smoke were visible outside but there was smoke inside, on the side of the house with the bedrooms, and there was an electrical smell.

    The home’s occupants were able to go back inside but were advised to call if there were any more problems, Merry said. He returned to the home later Friday morning and still found no cause of the smoke hours earlier.

    “Whatever shorted itself out, or whatever happened, took care of itself, fortunately,” Merry said. One of the bedrooms had minor smoke damage.