BROOKS - An unexplained fire leveled a Brooks home Wednesday morning.

Firefighters were called out shortly before 10 a.m. to a one-and-a-half-story home on Veterans Highway owned by Susan Champa and her sons Frank and Peter.

Susan and Frank, who is co-owner of Ralph’s Café, were out of the country, according to Brooks Fire Chief Jeff Archer, but Peter was home when the fire started.

“He smelled smoke and thought it was a wood stove,” Archer said. "I guess the pets were acting kind of funny, and he went in the kitchen and saw [that a fire had started].”

“It was what we call 70-percent involved,” he said. “We couldn't go inside.”

Peter Champa got out of the house, but Archer said two dogs and a cat did not and died in the fire.

Roughly 13 to 16 fire departments and ambulance services came to the scene, by Archer’s count. A Waldo County Emergency Management Association team helped coordinate efforts among the many groups. Additionally, a school bus was brought in from Belfast to serve as a warming station for firefighters and others.

The cause of Wednesday’s fire remains unknown. Archer said the State Fire Marshal’s Office is conducting an investigation.

"There was nothing suspicuous,” he said. “It was a horrible loss. It's tough in these small communities. They lost everything. Peter escaped with his clothes. There's absolutely nothing left.”

Contact Ethan Andrews at: news@penbaypilot.com