Flames engulf home in Kittery; several agencies responding

KITTERY, Maine —

A three-story home in Kittery was destroyed after a fire tore through the building early Thursday morning. Officials say that all three people residing in the building were able to escape safely.

Residents that live nearby sent in video showing a large fire that had engulfed most of the building. Maine’s Total Coverage sent a crew to monitor the fire which had been mostly knocked down by 4:30 a.m.

A ladder truck was still putting water on the fire until around 5:00 a.m. Most fire trucks cleared out of the area by 6:09 a.m.

Most of the home was destroyed. The entire third floor, and most of the second floor had collapsed. Almost the entirety of the building’s interior was left charred.

Kittery Fire Department’s fire chief, Randall Trull, says that crews will be staying in the area to monitor building. They will eventually be tearing down any unsafe structural components that remain.

Neighbors that live across the street on Tenney Hill Road told Maine’s Total Coverage that they called in the fire just after 1 a.m. on Thursday. They said they ran across the road to wake up the neighbors that were inside.

Emily Garry describes what she saw when she looked out her window early this morning.

“I happened to see this strange light pouring in,” she said. “I was like ‘what is that?’ I went to the shades and I was like, ‘oh my God, that’s fire’ and I’m like, ‘Tim, Tim, wake up.”

Tim Moore said he jumped into action. “I ran over, started slamming on the windows and yelling at them. By the time they get out, the porch was almost on fire all around me.”

Chief Trull says the fire spread quickly. “When the first engine arrived on scene, it was fully involved. We automatically went to a second alarm to request additional resources.”

At one points the neighbors described hearing loud bangs coming from the fire.

Apart from Kittery Fire Dept., fire crews from other towns assisted in putting out the fire including York, Rollinsford, Portsmouth, Greenland and Eliot.

One firefighter was taken away for heat exhaustion but has since been released.

The State Fire Marshall’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.