NEW SHARON – Roger Foster’s first fire since becoming an accredited firefighter last weekend was Tuesday at his family’s home, which was destroyed.

Foster had just come into the mobile home and checked on his sleeping wife, Bobbie Jo, when smoke alarms sounded and he turned around to find the front bedroom engulfed in flames, he said.

The couple and the family dog escaped, but two cats are missing. Foster was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital by NorthStar Ambulance where he was checked for smoke inhalation and released, he said.

The cause of the fire in the 1969 home and addition is undetermined, Farmington fire Chief Terry Bell said. The Farmington department helped New Sharon firefighters at the late morning fire before New Sharon Chief Jeff Brackett could arrive.

The family questions whether the fire started around an electrical box in the front bedroom, said daughter Seaira Kelley, a first year student at the University of Maine at Augusta.

Her mother was sleeping after working a night shift at Comfort Inn while two siblings were at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington and another brother was at Cape Cod Hill School in New Sharon.

The family had just completed an addition and put in a new septic system. Their plans included a new well and vinyl siding on the residence come spring, she said.

There was no insurance on the structure, Bell and Kelley said.

Firefighters from Chesterville and Industry worked with the New Sharon and Farmington crews.

The volunteer department realized a shortage of manpower early at the scene, Bell said. There were only two or three there when the Farmington department arrived. There’s a lot of work to do and few to do it, he added.

The American Red Cross and representatives from local churches offered help to family members as they tearfully stood in the cold rain and watched their home go up in flames.

Owners of Douin’s Market on Route 2, Joseph and DeAnne Douin, brought food to the scene for the firefighters and have started a giving tree at the store for the Foster family along with a container for cash donations. Bobbie Jo previously worked at the market, Douin said.

“In my mind I just went through all the things I’d need when I wake up everyday … everything from soap to shampoo, clothes, shoes, jackets … all the little things,” he said.

To coordinate items, the Douins posted slips of paper, a giving tree, near the counter with items and sizes needed for each member of the family.

The college student had just taken her books into that front bedroom last night, he said.

“If we all join together, it won’t be too much for anyone to help,” he added.