LEWISTON – Moments after firefighters extinguished a blaze that ravaged a Randall Road home, rescuers focused on treating a dog that was trapped in the house.
“They’re the most innocent creatures in the world,” said Lt. Wallace Veilleux, who spent several minutes with the 10-year-old black lab, Jasmine. The firefighter stroked the dog’s head and gave her oxygen first through a tube and then through a mask.
Jasmine whined but was able to stand before owner Melissa Delorme hurried her to a veterinarian.
Delorme, 22, was alone in the single-story house at 115 Randall Road when the fire began, apparently, according to Delorme and her mother, from the speaker of a living room stereo.
Fire officials said the cause of the fire is undetermined.
She called emergency workers at 12:07 p.m. When firefighters arrived, flames were burning the living room and the attic. In minutes, rescuers began breaking out windows, fighting the blaze with water that also flooded the hillside road.
Firefighters were already at the scene when Melissa’s mother, Lisa Delorme, arrived.
She wept as she watched the firefighters in all-weather gear march through her darkened home.
Fire Investigator Paul Ouellette of the Lewiston Fire Department said he was unsure whether the house was salvageable. “It’s too early to tell,” Ouellette said, pulling on coveralls before beginning his investigation.
Rescuers were hopeful that the Delorme’s cat, also trapped in the fire, would survive.
“They usually know how to stay low, away from the smoke,” Ouellette said.
The Sun Journal learned later that the cat had died.
Jasmine fared better.
By late afternoon, doctors from the Lisbon Road Animal Hospital had treated and released the family dog.
Earlier, firefighters found her inside the house trying to get under a bed. They carried her from the house and laid her on the snow nearby.
Lt. Veilleux sighed when he saw Jasmine open her eyes. Once she stood, he carried her to an ambulance, where he wrapped her in a blanket and placed her on a snowbank. Firefighter Bill Hunt cradled the dog’s head. Paramedics Michael Blakemore and Michelle Hart soothed her as Lisa Delorme watched.
“Mommy’s here,” Delorme said.
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