SCARBOROUGH — More than two hours after a call was placed to the Fire Department Wednesday morning, firefighters were still determining the cause of a blaze that destroyed most of a garage at 26 Powderhorn Drive.

No one was injured in the blaze, and Fire Chief Michael Thurlow declined to  identify the residents. According to town tax records, the property is owned by Rayan and Charlotte Elkhatib.

The call was received at 10:24 a.m. from the one-story residence. The female caller, at home with her two children, said something might be wrong with the furnace, Thurlow said.

“When we arrived, we did find smoke,” the chief said as he stood in front of the partially blackened home Wednesday morning. 

Thurlow said he was not certain that the furnace was the cause of the fire, since the fire appeared to have originated or near the garage.

Firefighters controlled the blaze to the garage, he said, and it did not affect the majority of the house. 

With less than a day separating the blizzard that dropped more than 2 feet of snow in some parts of Maine, Thurlow said it was difficult not only to maneuver equipment along narrowed roads, but to find and uncover fire hydrants.

“We were able to find and shovel out (two) hydrants … (the snow) certainly does add delays,” Thurlow said. 

Extra firefighters were also brought along, he said, “so we’d have plenty of manpower.”

“Certainly storms like this take a toll on everyone,” Thurlow said.

Alex Acquisto can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or aacquisto@theforecaster.net. Follow Alex on Twitter: @AcquistoA. 

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With the blaze extinguished, Scarborough firefighters try to determine the cause of a house fire Wednesday morning on Powderhorn Drive. 

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