Firefighters struggled with heavy snow and freezing temperatures Monday night while battling a fire that destroyed a home on Route 17 in Jefferson.

Jefferson Fire Chief Walter Morris said nobody was hurt in the blaze, which was reported shortly before 10 p.m. at a home being renovated at 313 Route 17, which also is Rockland Road.

“It was extremely difficult conditions for firefighters,” Morris said. “It was definitely challenging weather conditions.”

A section of Rockland Road was closed for several hours.

Nobody was living in the two-story, single-family home, which was owned and being renovated by Jeremy Tillson. Morris said the home was insured.

“It was completely destroyed,” he said.

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The fire had engulfed the building by the time firefighters arrived.

“There was fire through the roof and showing out pretty much every window and every door,” Morris said.

The home was several hundred feet off the road. The driveway had not been plowed.

“Fortunately, one of my firefighters had a pickup with a plow,” Morris said. “He was able to cut a path for us.”

A storm that dropped nearly a foot of snow throughout the day Monday continued as crews battled the blaze. Temperatures that hovered near zero were exacerbated by a strong, gusty wind. Morris said firefighters struggled to drag lines over snowbanks and through waist-deep snow. Firefighters from several communities, including Newcastle, Nobleboro, Pittston, Somerville, Washington, Whitefield and Windsor, as well as Waldoboro firefighters and emergency medical services, helped Jefferson crews battle the blaze.

Tankers shuttled water from a dry hydrant a couple of miles away in Coopers Mills. Morris said frozen hoses were a problem, but they never ran out of water.

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Morris is unsure where in the house, or how, the fire started. Tillson was using electric and propane heaters to keep the pipes from freezing, Morris said. The chief called investigators from the state Fire Marshal’s Office to try to determine how the fire started, but he acknowledged that will be a challenge.

“I don’t know (whether) they’ll be able to determine anything at this point because of the damage,” he said.

Tillson was nearly done renovating the home destroyed by Monday’s fire, Morris said.

“It was essentially done,” Morris said. “He hoped to move in this week.”


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