DURHAM

A Durham home was destroyed by fire on Route 9 Wednesday afternoon and the state fire marshal’s office is investigating what caused it.

Durham Fire Chief Bill St. Michel said at around 3:30 p.m. the fire department received a report that there had been an explosion in the house across the street from Durham Elementary School.

According to Michel, the home is owned by Parker Morse and located at 667 Hallowell Road. No one was home at the time the fire broke out. 

Michel was first on scene and found heavy black smoke coming primarily from the basement area. There was also fire showing at the right end of the structure, which he estimated was approximately 24-feet-by-30-feet.

He found several registered vehicles in the driveway, and a fire in the basement at the ceiling level. The daylight basement side had blown out.

There were flames venting from the basement window wrapping around the propane tank as well as at the corner where power entered the building. 

His next call was to state police to help with traffic control because the nearby school was letting out. He also called Central Maine Power Co., to cut power to the structure.

There were already several fire trucks on scene through automatic mutual aid agreements when Michel struck a second alarm, calling  three more engines and three more tankers to the scene. There were at least seven fire departments that responded.

He estimated the fire was under control within approximately 45 minutes to an hour. There were constantly small explosions which Michel said was likely ammunition or small propane tanks. It sounded like fireworks going off, he said.

No one was injured during the incident and Michel said he was most concerned that the driveway was a sheet of ice as firefighters tried to move hand lines around. The road crew came and spread sand by shovel.

Crews did extensive work extinguishing the fire without tearing through the debris so state fire marshal investigators could examine the scene. They were present Wednesday and will return to the scene Thursday.

The house and contents are a total loss, Michel said, and at least one of the vehicles was damaged from an explosion.

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