LITCHFIELD – The cause of a fire that destroyed a family’s Elm Lane home Monday was not known Tuesday, according to the Volunteer Fire Department’s deputy chief.

Deputy Chief Darryl Ellis said a state fire marshal’s investigator was at the scene Tuesday where Lisa and Randy Stevens lived with their two children and two grandchildren.

“They had two different theories,” Ellis said. One was that the electrical problems started the fire; another was that it started from a candle and drapery.

“The owners seem to feel it was electrical,” Ellis said. “They said they had ongoing electrical problems in that trailer. The fire marshal did locate a power strip.”

Neighbor Amy Millett said her phone rang all day Tuesday from people offering to help the Stevenses, who lost everything.

“This is a mad world, but after that fire and the phone calls, there are decent people out there,” Millett said. “A woman called me to say she had an empty house they can use. I said, ‘Wow.'” Other people are sending money, while others are donating clothing.

“I’ve had calls from Hallowell to Livermore Falls to Monmouth. I am just amazed at all the calls. I have to put an ad in the paper to thank everybody.”

The trailer was home to the Stevenses and their two children, Seth and Brittany, and their grandchildren, Alyssa, 3, and Cameron, 9 months. On Monday, Seth took his niece and nephew to the store, returning to find the home in flames.

Millett lives across from where the home stood. “It’s flat. There’s nothing there,” she said Tuesday. “My grandbaby lived there.” Until Monday, she’d often look out her window and see her granddaughter wave. “My heart breaks for them. I have been crying since yesterday afternoon.”

The time of day the fire broke out, 2:40 p.m., was the worst time for a fire in Litchfield because so few volunteer firefighters are nearby.

In a rural town like Litchfield there is no industry and few jobs, so most volunteer firefighters work out of town. Several work at Bath Iron Works, Ellis said. Those who work first shift weren’t yet home, while those who work second had already left. Ellis said he arrived at the scene quickly only because he works in Litchfield as a teacher.

When he got there, “the living room was fully involved. Two firefighters were there. One was running the truck and one was running the hose.”

Being at a fire with so little manpower “is the most helpless feeling in the world,” Ellis said. The three were able to slow the fire, “but the time of day was really against us. Finally mutual aid from Bowdoin and Sabattus arrived. They were wonderful. But house trailers burn so fast. This one had a head start.”

The scene wasn’t cleared until 7 or 8 p.m. High snowbanks made it tough to remove the skirt around the trailer, which made putting out hot spots a cumbersome job.

One of the family’s four cats was found alive, Millett said. Firefighters found the remains of two other cats. The family had a dog, Lexi, “but we did not find it,” Ellis said.

The family had some insurance, Millett said. They are staying at a Lewiston hotel.

Anyone interested in helping may call Amy Millett at 713-5878.