BOWDOINHAM

Local firefighters were able to keep the fire that destroyed a garage  on Dingley Road from spreading to the nearby house Friday afternoon.

Firefighters from Bowdoinham, Bowdoin and Richmond were called to the garage fire a 185 Dingley Road in Bowdoinham just before 2 p.m. 

Among the first firefighters to respond to the fire, Richmond Assistant Fire Chief Mike Vashon said when he arrived the garage was fully engulfed. He pointed to the charred branches of a tree behind the garage to show how high the flames were shooting and said flames were blowing across the top of the house. The first water line was used to cool the house and the second line was used to hose down the garage. The fire was quickly knocked down within 15 minutes.

There was minimal damage to the house, said Bowdoinham Fire Chief Arthur Frizzle. The roof vent melted and firefighters checked the fire didn’t extend into the house through the vent or eaves. Some smoke blew through the vents but firefighters found no problems.

“Manpower this time of day is obviously the biggest issue,” Frizzle said. Vashon was initially on scene with an engine and only two other firefighters. 

The home and garage belong to JoAnn Mercure, who said her roommate Ken Whitmore was home when the fire broke out and called for the fire department. She was at Hannaford at the time and said on her way home, she saw smoke from the highway and “I don’t know why but my gut said it was mine.”

“It could have been worse. I could have lost my house too,” she said. She’s lived at the home 12 years and has insurance. A large pine tree fell on the former garage so it was rebuilt about seven years ago. She has no basement in the house so she had some sentimental items from when her children your young and some antiques stored in the garage. 

She has no family in Maine so it would have been very difficult had the house burned too. She said her roommate lost everything he owned because it was in the garage. 

“I’m glad everybody’s OK and the house is OK,” Mercure said. “I thank al those volunteer firefighters.”

An investigator with the fire marshal’s office responded to the scene at around 4 p.m. Frizzle said the investigator couldn’t pinpoint the exact origin but determined the wood stove in the garage was the ultimate cause.