A man and woman died from injuries sustained in a fire Saturday morning at their home in Farmington, authorities said. It was the third fatal fire in Maine in less than a week.
William Vincent, 75, did not survive the fire that broke out at his residence around 5 a.m. on Clover Mill Road, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Tomasa Vincent managed to escape the house and was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital and later to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she succumbed to her injuries, the fire marshal’s office said Saturday night.
Investigators believe that the fire was accidental and was the result of combustible material being placed next to the wood stove, the agency said in a statement.
Along with the Farmington Fire Department, firefighters from Temple, New Sharon, Jay, Wilton and Strong assisted at the scene, as well as the North Star Ambulance service.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victims of this and the previous fires,” the statement said. “The Fire Marshal’s Office would like to stress the importance of maintaining working fire detectors in homes.”
Fires in Lincoln and Camden killed two children earlier in the week.
An intense house fire Thursday in Camden took the life of 14-year-old Theodore Hedstrom, who was found in a sleeping area near where the blaze started. Two adults were in the house, and one was critically injured trying to reach the boy.
The fire marshal’s office said the fire was likely accidental and it started near an electrical panel that had recently been worked on during the installation of a clothes dryer. The house was destroyed, and a GoFundMe page set up to help with the cost of rebuilding had raised nearly $100,000 as of Saturday afternoon.
The fire marshal’s office did not have a definitive cause of the Camden fire as of Saturday afternoon, spokeswoman Katy England said.
On Monday night, a blaze in Lincoln killed 7-year-old Adele Parent. The three adults in the house were unable to reach her because of intense heat and smoke fueled by kerosene from a plastic container that failed.
The Lincoln fire also started in an area where electrical work had recently taken place. Neighbors and local businesses also have started a fundraising drive to help the Parent family.
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