WESTBROOK — A fire burned part of a 251-year-old house in Westbrook late Sunday night but firefighters managed to knock down the blaze before it caused more extensive damage to the historic home.

Residents of the East Bridge Street home called Westbrook firefighters after reportedly seeing smoke in a bathroom near the exhaust pipes for a wood stove. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke and flames inside part of the home, said Westbrook Fire Chief Andrew Turcotte.

Turcotte said the fire appeared to have started around the stove’s exhaust piping to the chimney. The fire damaged the area around the wood stove as well as the adjacent bathroom. Other areas of the house suffered water or smoke damage. Turcotte said the fact that the residents noticed the fire quickly and called firefighters likely spared the home much more extensive damage. He said the house is repairable.

The small, two-story brick house at the corner of East Bridge and Austin streets dates to 1763. Turcotte said he was told it is the oldest still-inhabited home in the city.

Turcotte said the incident and other recent fires should serve as a reminder to homeowners to regularly clean their wood stoves, fireplaces and chimneys.

Firefighters from Windham, Gorham, Scarborough and Portland assisted at the scene while crews from Falmouth provided station coverage for Westbrook during the blaze.


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