NEW SHARON — Eighty-one-year-old Marie Goodwin wishes she could have saved their rescue dog, Teddy, when she and her husband, Brian, 82, escaped their burning home at 10 Clearwater Road early Sunday morning.

“That dog. I wish I could have saved him. He was so good.” Marie Goodwin said. “I don’t think he ever woke up.”

The couple’s two-story farmhouse, attached barn, woodshed and everything they owned were destroyed.

“We were sleeping and something woke us up,” Marie said. “I looked at my closet and saw smoke. I heard the smoke detector going off.”

Her husband, who has cancer, was sleeping in a bed in the living room and yelled to her to get out, she said. The barn was already gone, she said.

Brian suffered smoke inhalation and had a slight heart attack because of everything, his stepdaughter, Leann Baud of Winthrop, said Monday. He was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

The couple drove to neighbor John Pond’s home to call 911.

“The barn is gone. The house is gone. All of our clothes are gone,” Marie said as she stood holding on to her walker and looked at the charred debris Monday.

Her hearing aids, pocketbook with money in it and glasses were burned, as well as the couple’s phones and family photos.

The property was insured.

The couple had just had two oil tanks in the basement filled, Baud said. They had a wood stove, a pellet stove and kerosene as well. Four tons of pellets still smoldered Monday.

State fire investigators said they couldn’t determine the cause because of the damage, New Sharon Fire Chief John Welch said Monday. The fire started in an area of the barn where a riding mower was stored.

About 30 firefighters from New Sharon, Farmington, Temple, Industry, Jay, Chesterville and Wilton responded to the scene about 1:30 a.m. NorthStar EMS ambulance personnel were also on the scene. Strong Fire Department stood by at the Farmington Fire Rescue Department station

Water was shuttled from Clearwater Pond. The narrow dirt road could only handle one-way traffic, Welch said.

It was difficult to fight the fire, he said. There were two oil tanks in the basement and 3 feet of water.  As the walls fell in, it was difficult to get to the burning spots in the basement.

Most of the fire crews left the scene by 5:30 a.m., but New Sharon firefighters returned later to douse hot spots.

Goodwin is staying with her daughter for now.

Disaster responders from the American Red Cross of Maine were working with the couple to ensure that their immediate needs such as food, a safe place to sleep and other essentials are met.

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