GORHAM – Firefighters rescued a dog from a fire that extensively damaged a home in a wooded area on Whipple Road in Gorham on Monday.

Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said Tuesday an electrical warming light in a nearby chicken coop caused a fire that cause extensive damage to the home at 27 Whipple Road in Gorham.

Lefebvre said the fire spread to the eaves of the home and into the attic.

Lefebvre believed some chickens perished in the blaze, while other chickens had escaped.

A Whipple Road neighbor, Shannon Linehan, said she told firefighters a dog was in the home.

The state’s fire marshal’s office investigated the fire.

Gorham Police Chief Ronald Shepard said at the scene the home received “a lot of damage.”

On Tuesday, Lefebvre said the home would need a new roof and that the fire rendered the home unlivable.

According to Gorham tax records, the home is owned by Honey E. Sparrow, who could not be reached Tuesday.

“No one was home at the time,” Lt. Christopher Sanborn of Gorham police said.

Debbie Fraser of 28 Whipple Road saw smoke and then flames coming from windows of her neighbor’s home across Whipple Road.

“I called 911,” Fraser said.

The North Gorham Fire Station, at the intersection of North Gorham and Standish Neck roads, is a short distance from Whipple Road. Lefebvre said the fire was reported at 12:02 p.m. Firefighters arrived at 12:03 p.m., Fraser said.

Firefighters from Gorham, Standish and Windham responded. Water was pumped through hoses stretched from North Gorham Pond several hundred feet away.

Gorham firefighters hose down a home at 27 Whipple Road that was extensively damaged Monday around noon. Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said an electrical warming light in a chicken coop close to the house caused the fire.    
Gorham firefighters confer Monday at the scene of a Whipple Road blaze that extensively damaged a home.