ACTON — The fire that destroyed a home at 1077 Hopper Road on Friday morning caused too much damage for investigators to determine the cause, officials said.

Firefighters were called to the fire at 6:45 a.m. by a passer-by who saw smoke pouring out of the eaves of the 2½-story house.

Assistant Fire Chief David Langley said there was no chance to save the house.

Firefighters from Acton, Lebanon, Sanford, Shapleigh and Milton Mills responded to the scene, according to the Sanford emergency dispatch center, but they were still challenged by a lack of manpower, Langley said. At that time of the morning, many of the engines arrived with only one or two firefighters on board.

It took firefighters two hours to bring the fire under control.

Fire Chief Peter Smith, 46, of Acton suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Southern Maine Health Care in Sanford, where he was treated and released, according to the York County Sheriff’s Office.

Nobody was home at the time of the fire. Langley said the resident had spent the night elsewhere and returned home Friday morning to get ready for work and found the firefighters there.

An excavator was brought in to demolish the structure, which had collapsed on the interior, Langley said.


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