No one was injured in a fire Thursday night that destroyed a garage and damaged part of the adjacent house at 395 Plains Road in Litchfield.
An investigator from the Office of the State Fire Marshal was at the scene Friday morning to determine a cause.
Fire Chief Stanley Labbe said the home’s occupants, Carol Patenaude and her adult grandson Paul Spaulding, were alerted to the blaze by the barking of their dog and were able to escape.
“They’re very lucky it didn’t happen later at night,” Labbe said. The dog escaped as well.
The fire was reported about 7:40 p.m.
“We got the call the garage was on fire fully involved,” Labbe said, adding that the garage stood 8 or 9 feet from the house. “The biggest hindrance was we couldn’t get at it good because of the power.”
Central Maine Power Co. was called to cut off the electrical supply so firefighters could attack the blaze better.
Labbee said the home’s living room and kitchen sustained smoke damage, but the bedroom doors were shut, sparing those rooms.
Firefighters covered the items that might be salvageable.
Labbe said the cause of the fire does not appear suspicious.
“There was no one in the garage for the past two or three days, and the homeowners want to know what happened,” he said.
Litchfield firefighters, with mutual aid from Gardiner, Richmond and West Gardiner departments, were at the scene for more than four hours.
He said Patenaude and Spaulding stayed in Richmond later Thursday night and that the home was insured.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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