A camp on Maranacook Lake burned completely Wednesday night, sending its occupant to the hospital.

Thomas N. Thompson is being treated at Maine Medical Center in Portland for smoke inhalation and burns, according to Steve McCausland, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman.

Thompson co-owned the house, a two-story structure at 38 Maranacook Station Lane, with Matthew Thompson.

Firefighters were called out around 8:30 p.m. Crews drilled through the ice on Maranacook Lake to pump water, Winthrop Fire Chief Dan Brooks said, and extinguished the fire around 9:45 p.m. They remained at the scene for an additional four hours to douse the embers.

Monmouth Fire and the Lakes Region Mutual Aid Group, which includes the towns of Mount Vernon, Fayette, Vienna, Readfield, Manchester and Wayne, responded to the fire.

“(Firefighting) takes lots of communities,” Brooks said.

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Wood and other items near Thomas Thompson’s wood stove caught fire, McCausland said, and the blaze spread throughout the house

Thomas Thompson tried to extinguish the fire himself, Brooks said, but was unable to, and had to run to a neighbor’s property to call for help.

Slippery conditions on the camp road hampered firefighting, Brooks said, sending vehicles off the road and delaying Central Maine Power’s effort to repair live lines that were down.

One thing in the Winthrop Fire Department’s favor was that it held a regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday night, so all 21 volunteers were present when the call came in.

“Ordinarily it would take 15 minutes to get everyone,” said Brooks. “Last night it took 30 seconds.”

Firefighters prevented a close neighboring camp from being damaged.

Abigail Austin — 621-5631

aaustin@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @AbigailAustinKJ


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