Fire swept through a home just off Belgrade Road in Mount Vernon early Wednesday morning, destroying the interior of the two-and-a-half-story building before firefighters could get the flames under control about two hours later.
Mount Vernon firefighters arrived at the scene 10 minutes after the blaze was reported at 4:45 a.m., Mount Vernon Fire Chief Dana Dunn said.
By that time, heavy smoke was coming out of the roof of the home, which was on Barbioni Lane, a private road in the vicinity of 402 Belgrade Road.
The local firefighters soon were joined by crews from Belgrade and all the towns in the Lakes Region Mutual Aid Association, which includes Fayette, Manchester, Readfield, Wayne, Vienna and Mount Vernon. By 6:30 a.m., they contained the fire, Dunn said.
The owner of the home, Joe Barbioni, and another person were present when the fire started, but they had left the building safely by the time firefighters arrived, Dunn said.
Given the extensive damage to the interior of the house, Dunn described it as a total loss. The property was insured.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the Office of State Fire Marshal, but the circumstances did not appear suspicious, Dunn said.
Crews worked well into the morning to extinguish the remainder of the fire, Dunn said.
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