NO ONE WAS HURT when a three-story house at 17 Weymouth St., Richmond, caught fire Friday afternoon, Richmond Fire Chief Matt Roberge said.
Five local fire departments helped quickly bring a house fire under control Friday.
When firefighters responded to 17 Weymouth St., at 3:25 p.m. Friday, Richmond Fire Chief Matt Roberge said fire was coming from side and front windows on the second floor, where he said it started.
Tim Acord said he was in a laundry room on the first floor of the three-story home he built about 10 years ago when “all the smoke alarms started going off, and I came out and started going up the stairs, and when I was eyelevel with the floor, I saw the flames.”
He said he grabbed a laptop he’d almost tripped on and ran out the door.
Firefighters mixed water from a hydrant with foam to extinguish the fire. Roberge estimated Richmond firefighters had the fire knocked down in 15 or 20 minutes with help from Gardiner, Bowdoinham, Bowdoin and Dresden.
Neighbors and friends gathered around Acord, who has owned the adjacent Main Street Dairy Treat for about 20 years.
Acord, who lives in the home alone, said he was able to retrieve clothing.
Roberge said Friday the cause was undetermined.
He said the house sustained surface damage, mostly on the second floor, but could be repaired. Windows and skylights were shattered, heavy smoke billowed from the roof and in the aftermath, foam and water poured down the central staircase.
No one was hurt.
“Several appliances were plugged in in the kitchen,” Roberge said after meeting with fire marshal investigators. “We don’t know which one was the culprit.”
“I have no idea what happened,” Acord said. “I wasn’t cooking. I had just nuked coffee, but that was five minutes before. And I had plugged in a little heater. I saw flames and all the fire alarms went off.”
Correspondent Janet Clement contributed to this report.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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