CARTHAGE – Less than a month after he and his family lost their Winter Hill Road home in South Carthage to a fire, Keith Cochran is racing Mother Nature to get a foundation in for their new house.

He’s also struggling with compassionate people who are canceling jobs with the building contractor, because they erroneously believe he needs to rebuild his house before doing work for others.

“It’s like I’m taking a double whammy,” Cochran said late Thursday morning, taking a break from grading his new driveway to get construction equipment to the site. He and business partner, Mike Armstrong, own Mystic Valley Builders.

“People have been helping us out, but, as far as the business is concerned, people think I’ve got too much to do, and it’s hurting my business. My business needs to keep going more than my house. I deeply appreciate all the help, but I’ve got to provide for my wife and kids,” Cochran said.

On Nov. 10, Cochran and his wife, Christine, were away at work, and their five young children in school when the house caught fire shortly after 9 a.m. Keith Cochran said the fire was believed to have started from a hot spot in a microwave.

The family couldn’t get fire insurance, because the house contained portions of an old mobile home. They were in the process of getting that section removed so they could get insurance.

“The biggest help we can have is to keep the business going. We had so many people come and give us clothes, food and offers of help, but now, if people want to make a donation, give us a job and let us work during the week on jobs so we can keep the income coming in,” Keith Cochran said.

Butch Towle, owner of Towle’s Hardware in Dixfield, said Thursday that a lot of people had stopped into his business since the fire asking if there are any other available builders around.

“They feel bad for him, and they’re hesitant to call him. People worry he’s busy with his own house,” Towle said.

“On weekends, I can do my house, but the business is my No. 1 priority. It seems to me that that’s taking more of a hit than the house,” Keith Cochran said.

He said he’s already lost two jobs, one, a woman in Wilton who cried in front of him about not wanting to overburden him, and the other, a hot-tub room remodel for a Dixfield man.

“He told us right out straight he thinks we’ve got too much to do with my own house,” Keith Cochran said.

Not so, and Towle wanted to get the word out.

“He can do anything in the construction trade. He’s a good carpenter, he’s worked for me before, he’s a good professional builder, and he’s done a lot of business with us,” Towle added.

“I don’t want people to shy away, because they feel bad. We’ve still got to work,” he said.

In addition to that, Cochran said he’s getting burnt out from dealing with insurance companies that won’t give him fire insurance, because his uninsured house burned down.

“I’m irritated with that. We’re going to get penalized for something on which we never had a claim. I wonder how many other people are in that situation. Something’s wrong with the system, and I want to fix it,” he said.