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Richard H Buck
Copyright© 1998 Photographs & Text by Richard H Buck. All rights reserved world wide.
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Notes:
At right-- Capt Chris Nassa was in Command of the Fire, his first command! The fire was contained in under 20 minutes from time of call. |
| June 18 started like any other day, but a few surprises waited down the road.
The first came at 10:15 a.m. when, driving out my dirt road, Thomas Pond Terrace, I saw smoke wafting from Maiettas lakeside cottage attic vents. The place had not been used for some time so I continued a short distance to Ed and Beverly McCarthy's home, where Beverly phoned 911 to report the situation. I made a U-turn to go home for my camera in case I wanted to take some pictures when I returned from my errands. How soon could a volunteer fire department respond on a Thursday morning. And I didn't see any flames, so how bad could it be? The second surprise came when, nine minutes later, I got back to the smoking cottage and was amazed to see two fire trucks arriving. The lead truck was identified as a Frye Island Fire Department vehicle. Frye Island! The third surprise. How in the world did they ferry that truck to the mainland so fast? And why? |
Those in Attendance |
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| Raymond Chief Tim Pellerin Captain John McFarland Captain Chris Nassa Lt Tim Alexander Lt Dwayne Buzzell Lt Tina Whitney Lt Tim Zimont FF Tammy Knight FF Craig Gerry FF Nathan White FF Sam Webster FF Joe Mcneely FF Brian Blanchard Ron Morton Bill Parker Jane Jordan Paul Barber Keith Libby Don Alexander Dave Sheppard |
Casco
Windham |
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| I watched the firefighters work efficiently and I snapped a roll of photos as they broke through locked doors and ran hoses. At first I thought using chainsaws to cut holes in the roof was overkill, but each time they created a new opening in the camp, more smoke billowed out.
If the prompt emergency response was surprising, its scope was moreso. All told, there were five trucks from Raymond (I learned the truck marked "Frye Island" was actually a Raymond vehicle being sold to Frye Island and was still in Raymond, ready to roll), plus a Raymond rescue unit, and a fire truck from Casco. Firefighters included 20 from Raymond, four from Casco, and three from Windham, including Windham's Fire Chief. Windham and Gray's fire apparatus, while not present, were on standby. |
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Firefighter Tammy Knight received treatment on-site for smoke inhalation, but there were no serious injuries.
Returning from my errands, things were under control and some fire apparatus was leaving. Raymond Fire Chief Tim Pellerin allowed me to go inside for a few photos and for another surprise. |
| Previously I had seen only smoke, no flames, no exterior fire damage, so I could hardly believe my eyes; much of the interior was charcoal, including furniture, and walls. Chief Pellerin (shown here) indicated the small, blackened bunk-bed room where he suspects the fire started and explained why I saw no flames from outside: The fire may have smoldered for a long time, but when it ignited, it quickly depleted the oxygen in the closed-up camp and the fire burned slowly, hot and smoky. Smoke seeped through the ceiling, into the attic, and out the attic vents. Because of intense heat pressure downstairs, the only way firefighters could enter was to vent it through the roof with chainsaws. |  |
While it was too soon for an accurate damage estimate, Chief Pellerin (in above photo) guessed it would be about $80,000.
The final surprise of the day: I feel a little safer, a little better about emergency response in the Lakes Region than I did when the day began.
 web laboratory: pcc@pc2asscs.com |