BRIDGTON — A Massachusetts couple lost their longtime vacation home on Long Lake to fire Tuesday afternoon. No one was hurt and the cause has not been determined.

Chief Glen Garland of the Bridgton Fire Department said the call at 18 Ledges Road South came in at 12:19 p.m. He said about half of the building was engulfed when firefighters arrived; open windows helped spread the flames.

Owners Joe and Claire Heffernan of Marlborough, Mass., were on their dock on Long Lake when they noticed smoke coming from their more than 50-year-old cottage on the west shore near the Naples town line. Joe said he saw the smoke coming out of a screen door to the kitchen and flames around the microwave and toaster oven.

Joe Heffernan said he and his father bought the land in 1956 and built the single-story house soon afterward. He said he and his wife frequently came up to the house during the summer.

“I don’t even know what we’ll do,” he said. “It’s too sudden now to even think about it.”

Claire said they had brought their children and grandchildren to the vacation home over the years.

“We’re broken-hearted,” she said.

Garland said firefighters from Denmark, Sebago, Naples, Harrison, Sweden and Fryeburg responded to the scene, as well as a Salvation Army vehicle that provided food and drinks. He said he requested extra help to shorten the firefighters’ shifts in the heat.

“It was pretty hot for the guys with the gear on, and going into a hot building,” he said.

Garland said a fallen power line hindered access to one portion of the house. Central Maine Power Co. later shut off electricity to the house. Water was shuttled to the scene from a nearby Naples fire pond. Firefighters used 1,500 feet of hose between the staging area and the house.

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com