DRESDEN — Three adults and a juvenile were arrested on arson charges after allegedly setting fire Sunday to three vacant homes in Dresden and Woolwich, officials said.
While each of the homes was unoccupied, one of them, a mobile home on Middle Road in Dresden, had been under extensive renovation so a young family could move into it in about two weeks.
The mobile home was uninsured, and now the family of four must find another place to live — after the family and others had worked to replace drywall, renovate and paint the home.
Family members said they had no idea why anyone would set fire to the home or the other two buildings.
Firefighters from Dresden and surrounding communities responded to three fires Sunday in Dresden and Woolwich. On Monday, three adults and a juvenile were each charged with two counts of arson. Adam Wichenbach photo
The four who were arrested have each been charged with two counts of arson. The investigation is continuing, and officials said more charges are possible.
Savannah Breton, 18, of Woolwich; Patrick Kane, 19, of Topsham; and Robert Mathews, 36, of Lisbon, were arrested and taken to the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
A juvenile from Lisbon was charged and released to a guardian.
Bail for Breton and Kane was set at $20,000, while Mathews is being held with no bail because he was already out on bail on unrelated charges, according to information from the Office of State Fire Marshal.
Woolwich firefighters responded at 1:22 a.m. Sunday to a fire at a vacant building at 506 Old Stage Road in Woolwich. About 15 minutes later, the Dresden Fire Department was notified of a fire at a vacant mobile home at 1248 Middle Road in Dresden.
Dresden fire Chief Larry Call said the second fire was “heavily involved” in flames when firefighters arrived.
At about 8 a.m. Sunday, Dresden firefighters responded to another fire call, this one at 1161 Middle Road — the home that the family had under renovation.
A team of investigators from the Office of State Fire Marshal responded Sunday and worked for most of the day on the investigation into the cause of the fires.
A family member of the owners of the under-renovation trailer, who asked not to be identified, had just put new drywall up at the home and painted, and was getting ready to put down flooring. The family member said whoever started the fire used some of the new carpeting to start it.
The couple and two children, including their 5-year-old son, who was excited about his new bedroom, were planning to move into the renovated home in about two weeks.
They said the older trailer was heavily damaged by smoke and is not livable. It will have to be destroyed.
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