RUMFORD – A Rumford family was spending the night with relatives after an early afternoon fire Tuesday that nearly destroyed their home.

Everyone escaped safely at the Mark Glover residence at 386 Swain Road after a child smelled smoke, investigated and discovered a fire in a children’s bedroom at the rear of the single-story ranch home, said Deputy Chief Scott Holmes.

A hamster and cat were rescued, but a second cat was not accounted for. One firefighter suffered a minor injury when he slipped on ice and wrenched his back, Holmes said.

Investigators said the fire was electrical in origin, and was believed to have started from an extension cord.

“It was a fast-moving fire because there were a lot of combustibles inside the room,” Holmes said Tuesday.

A pair of firefighters, who launched the initial interior attack, said they encountered “heavy heat” before they reached the rear bedroom where the fire originated. Holmes said the intense heat formed because it was trapped and banked downward by the roof.

He said Rumford firefighters received a 911 call from someone in the residence – possibly the child who discovered the fire – at 1 p.m., reporting smoke in the building.

“We told them to get everyone out of the building and not to go back inside, and we rolled,” Holmes said. He also called in Mexico firefighters.

When Holmes arrived, heavy smoke rolled out of the eaves. That’s when he called in Peru, Dixfield, Canton, Andover, Newry and Bethel fire departments.

“I walked around to the back of the house and there were flames rolling out of a back bedroom window,” he added.

Holmes said there were also chickens everywhere and a rooster was crowing. Two German shepherds tied to a small shed and fence beyond the driveway and fire, watched the action with ears laid back.

The scene was bustling with activity at 1:20 p.m. as 50 firefighters worked to combat the fire, vent the roof, and shuttle water to a large, portable pool set up on the road.

A Central Maine Power Co. lineman arrived at 1:30 p.m. and disconnected electrical power to the home, allowing firefighters to attack the fire from that side of the house.

Other emergency responders included Med-Care Ambulance and Rumford and Oxford County police, who redirected traffic.

The fire was initially knocked down in 10 minutes and brought under control in 25 minutes, Holmes said.

“Everybody did a great job,” he added.

Because the fire extended into the roof and eaves, he believed the home was “pretty much gone.”

Mexico firefighters used their thermal imaging camera to check for hot spots, one of which flared up at 5:40 p.m., requiring a second trip by Rumford firefighters.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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