WESTBROOK — Fire destroyed a house at 40 Myrtle St. on Friday and while nobody was injured, a family cat perished in the smoke.

The two-alarm fire broke out in the small, single-family home between Bridge and Brown streets about 11:22 a.m. When firefighters arrived, the house was already burning extensively, fire officials said.

“Crews did an excellent job in attacking the fire and knocking it down as quick as possible,” Public Safety Director Michael Pardue said.

Crews stopped the fire from spreading to nearby buildings, although there was some minor heat damage to one other building.

“The home was essentially a total loss,” Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but the homeowners told firefighters they believe an electrical malfunction was to blame. One resident was taken to a local hospital to be checked out for smoke inhalation, firefighters said.

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The house is owned by Katherine Noiles, whose pet cat died despite efforts by firefighters to resuscitate it.

David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

dhench@mainetoday.com

Twitter: @Mainehenchman


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