CHESTERVILLE — A 12-year-old boy escaped a fire Friday that started outside a house and spread to the two-story home he shared with his mother at 209 Adams Road, which is off Ridge Road.

His mother, Erin Dyar, was at work at the Senior Planning Center in Farmington when the fire was reported at about 1:30 p.m.

Dyar’s son, Jeremiah, was able to get two family dogs over to the neighbors and attempted to go back to get a pet cat and turtle out but the neighbor stopped him, Dyar said. The turtle and cat died.

A propane tank exploded. The siding on the neighbors home melted, she said. Her son had gone out to get a bag of wood pellets and noticed the fire outside.

“I think he is still in shock,” Dyar said of her son. “It was pretty dramatic.”

“The house was a total loss,” Chesterville Fire Chief Aaron Gordon said.

More than 20 firefighters from Chesterville, Farmington, Fayette, Industry, Jay, New Sharon, Temple and Wilton, and NorthStar EMS ambulance personnel responded.

The investigation has been turned over to the Maine Forest Service because the fire started outside, Gordon said. The fire also spread into the back yard.

Representatives of the Forest Service were not immediately available Monday.

Dyar, who is involved in the community in several ways, said she and her son are staying with her parents, Wanda and Greg Soule, at their home in Chesterville.

The family had no insurance on the property or their belongings. Dyar said her father owns the property but she pays the mortgage.

“People were very generous,” she said.

They were given two small TVs and other items for a new home. She will rent a storage unit to store donations.

“We don’t need any clothes or shoes,” Dyar said.

A neighbor went out and bought her son shoes because he left the home in bare feet, Dyar said. Other neighbors have also pitched in to help as well as people in the community.

“At this point, we have very limited space,” she said.

What would help more is gift cards and cash, and anyone with knowledge on how to build a house.

Dyar has a PayPal account at erinmichealle@gmail.com. Monetary or gift card donations can also be sent to her parents’ house at 32 Norcross Hill Road, Chesterville, ME 04938.

“Jeremiah lost his Play Station 4 that he bought with his own money,” Dyar said. He mowed lawns and did other tasks for others. He had a few games with it. He is sad about that, she said. “He also lost all of his toys including his Legos. We lost our Christmas decorations. I had a photography business. I lost a laptop and camera.”

She was renting to own the laptop so she is going to see if there was insurance on it to get it replaced. She knows there was no insurance on her camera.

She also has an Amazon registry that lists items needed.

Shining Star, a nonprofit that assists community members in need, has been very helpful, Dyar said.

Kevin Frost, who organizes the Shining Star program, wrote in an email Monday that he was going to the Chesterville Town Office on Tuesday to set up time for a benefit meal for the family.

Dyar said she is grateful for all of the help she and her son have received.

“Thank you to everyone who has helped us. God is good,” she said. “I am thankful my son got out of the house safely. I am thankful to the firefighters and neighbors who helped.”

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