SACO —The body of a man was removed from a mobile home off Route 1 following an explosion and fire early this morning. 

The man’s name was not released at press time; Saco Fire Chief John Duross said the body was to be transported to the Office of the Maine Medical Examiner today for positive identification. The man, thought to be around 70 years-old, lived alone.

No one else was injured. Cause of the explosion and fire is under investigation by the Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal.

The nearest neighbors, Bob and Kim Leclair, said the heat was so intense it melted the blinds inside their mobile home.

The explosion and fire took place on Pheasant Road, in the Blue Haven Mobile Home Park off US Route 1 in the general area of the Saco auto mile, about 1 1/2 miles south of Cascade Road.

Bob Leclair said he and his wife were asleep when they were awakened to an explosion at around 1:30 a.m.

 “We thought it was an earthquake,” said Bob. “Then were started hearing popping noises, like fireworks.”

The couple looked out one window and saw a bright light and then they looked out another window.

“There were flames coming out of the eaves of the roof,”  said Bob. Within three minutes of his call to 911, the entire house was engulfed, he said.

Duross said when firefighters arrived the walls of the mobile home had been blown out.

“Clearly there was an explosion,” he said at 7:30 a.m. today. Duross said the investigation into the cause of the explosion and fire now rests with the fire marshal’s office.

The fire was under control within about an hour, but it was difficult to fight, the fire chief said.  Duross said firefighters were not able to access the interior of the mobile home because of concerns for structural integrity. As well, there are no hydrants in the area, and a tanker shuttle was set up to ferry water to the scene.

About 30 firefighters from Saco, Biddeford, Old Orchard Beach, Scarborough and Goodwin’s Mills fought the blaze.

The Leclair’s said neighbors on Pheasant Road were kept a distance away as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

Their own home sustained some damage — windows cracked in the heat, and some of the siding melted and there was some damage to their vehicles.

“Standing (inside) the door you could feel the heat,”  said Bob Leclair.

Outside this morning, the home that burned was a mass of charred rubble.

“We were lucky,” said Leclair, reflecting on what had transpired overnight and pointing out the damage to their home was only cosmetic.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].