UNION — A homeowner in Union said that he built a fire in his living room fireplace, Saturday evening, March 7. He went into his kitchen for a moment. When he returned, the fire was outside of the hearth and growing. He said he raced for water with the intent of extinguishing the flames, but the blaze before him was too intense. Instead, he called for his dog, and the two ran outside.

The owner went next door and asked that 911 be called; the neighbor was then put on hold for dispatch, according to the owner. So, he ran to another house and banged on the door. He didn’t get a response (presumably because those occupants were busy calling 911 as well), thus he ran back to the first neighbor. 

At 6:27 p.m., Union Fire Department and it’s mutual aid responded to the structure fire at this particular house, 53 The Woods Road, off of Heald Highway (Route 17), in Union. The first to arrive were there within minutes, but by that point flames were showing from the back of the house; the damage, from what the owner believed to have started with an overloaded fireplace, was irreversible. 

With a shake in his voice, he stood and watched as salvage attempts by Union, Warren, Hope, Appleton, Waldoboro, and Washington fire departments turned into overhaul. Everything he owned had been inside that house. But, at least – he said – he and his dog were safe.

For two hours, fire department tankers relayed water from a nearby quarry to a pump pool on Route 17, and then further relayed that water along The Woods Road by either hoses or trucks. Inside the house, other firefighters alternated from tearing insulation from the ceiling and dousing and re-dousing persistent rekindles.

At 8:20 p.m., after tankers had ceased relaying more water to the scene, and as firefighters were starting to wind down, a second structure fire was reported in Union. Washington Fire Department left The Woods Road and headed to North Union Road. Jefferson Fire Department was also dispatched to the North Union Road; responders from Appleton, Warren, and Hope followed as well, as did Union Rescue. That fire was quickly contained to the interior and extinguished. The responders then returned to The Woods Road to collect their abandoned gear and head back to their individual stations for gear cleaning. 

This article will be updated as more information becomes available. 

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com