WATERFORD – Brian Keane wasn’t about to let his neighbor’s trailer at 5 Maple Acres burn down on Thursday.

Smoke was rolling out from underneath the trailer owned by Rodney and Sonia Bean when Keane was coming home from work.

He said he went in and quickly checked all the rooms to make sure no one was home. Then, he ran to his home and called 911, then ran back to the Bean’s house.

“I checked the rooms again,” Keane said. “The smoke was so thick, you could only see about 2 feet. I about gagged to death.”

Outside again, Keane, 43, started scooping snow with his hands and tossing it on the fire beneath the house.

“The neighbor (Keane) had it pretty well knocked down when we got here,” said fire Chief Brad Grover. “His efforts really prevented further damage.”

Grover said there was smoke damage to the house. Under it were some scorched areas, melted PVC pipe and insulation that had been ripped down. Some of the siding had to be removed.

“I’m sure they are going to have more pipe issues now than they had before,” Grover said.

Grover said the Beans had put a kerosene heater under the trailer to warm the pipes.

He did not have an estimate of the damage.

Norway Fire Department sent crews to aid the Waterford firefighters.