Farmhouse in flames before 911 call
By Dawn De Busk
Staff Writer
NAPLES — A vacant farmhouse located off Burnell Road in Naples was destroyed by a fire on Thursday.
The fire had already engulfed the home when the initial phone call to emergency dispatch was made, according to Naples Deputy Chief Mark Scribner.
“One of our responders called it in,†he said. “It was fully-involved upon arrival.â€
“Our Engine 5 was first on the scene,†Scribner said. “We had a good crew there. Our people were in command.â€
The Naples firefighters received mutual aid from the Bridgton, Sebago and Casco fire departments, according to Scribner. “Any time a fire like this happens, there is a heavy mutual aid response,†he said.
As of Wednesday morning, the State Fire Marshall’s office had not determined the cause of the fire.
“I don’t have a cause yet,†Scribner said. “There have been a lot of fires in the state. There are some that would have a higher priority because there were fatalities,†he said.
“Because this was a fully-involved, vacant home, it hasn’t been high on my radar,†he said.
The electrical power to the farmhouse had not been disconnected, he said.
The single-family three-bedroom home, which had 1,360 square feet of living space and sat on 1.23 acres, was listed at a price of $75,900 by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. According to the Coldwell Banker website, a sale was pending. The home was located at 131 Burnell Rd.