POLAND — A Saturday morning fire along Upper Range Pond left a family homeless, fire Chief Mark Bosse said.
"They were at home, having breakfast, and they smelled smoke," Bosse said. "They thought it was actually the remnants of breakfast on the stove, but then they went back and opened the bedroom door and the room was on fire."
The fire was reported at 10:30 a.m. at 187 Cleve Tripp Road, Bosse said.
A father and two children escaped the blaze, but the entire house — a single-story, wood-frame modular home — and two dogs were lost in the fire.
Bosse declined to identify the family. Town assessing records say the property belongs to the heirs of Barbara Carle and Jacqueline Lemm of 108 North Raymond Road, Poland.
"They had fire coming out of the windows when crews arrived," Bosse said.
The father told firefighters he tried to extinguish the flames.
"He tried to throw water on it, but he said every time he did, the fire just kept getting bigger," Bosse said. "They lost pretty much everything."
About 35 firefighters responded, including crews from Mechanic Falls, Minot, Auburn, New Gloucester, Gray, Raymond, Casco and Oxford, the chief said.
He said he did not know what caused the fire, which was under investigation. State fire marshals were expected to be at the scene Monday.



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