Firefighters worked to contain a blaze at Jim and Maxine Perkins’ home at 158 Mechanic Falls Road (Route 121) in Oxford on Tuesday. A state fire investigator ruled the cause was undetermined, but believes it started around the wood stove, fire Capt. Shawn Cordwell said Tuesday night.

OXFORD — A late-morning fire destroyed the home an Oxford Fire Department dispatcher and Oxford Fire Relief member Tuesday on Route 121.

Jim and Maxine Perkins were not at home when flames erupted in their ranch-style house at 158 Mechanic Falls Road, Oxford fire Capt. Shawn Cordwell said. No one was hurt, but a cat was missing.

“The cause is undetermined, but it’s believed to be the wood stove,” Cordwell said Tuesday evening. He said the State Fire Marshal’s Office investigator visited the scene and it is his “strong belief that it was the wood stove” that cause the blaze.

The home was insured, the captain said.

Firefighters were called at about 11:15 a.m. and found the back of the house burning, Cordwell said. They were able to attack the flames, but had to leave when portions of the roof began to fall in, he said.

Cordwell said about 30 firefighters from the Oxford, Norway, Paris, Poland, Otisfield and Mechanic Falls fire departments responded. The call was the second of the day for the Paris crews, who assisted with fighting fires in two neighboring houses in Greenwood early Tuesday morning.

“Certainly their crews are already tired, so we’re keeping them on shorter shifts,” Cordwell said.

Cordwell said the fire was contained after about 40 minutes. Route 121 was closed to through traffic while firefighters worked. 

Jim Perkins has been with the Fire Department for more than 20 years, serving often as dispatcher, fire Lt. Steve Cordwell said Tuesday night. Perkins has also been a driver for Oxford Rescue, he said.

Maxine Perkins is a member of the Oxford Fire Relief, said member Stacia Cordwell, who went to the scene Tuesday to see her friend.

“They were holding together very well,” she said of the couple. “She has tremendous support from family.” The couple is staying with a son who lives nearby, she said, and the American Red Cross and Salvation Army were also providing assistance. 

The couple had reportedly lived at the home for the past 17 years.

Staff editor Mary Delamater contributed to this report.

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Flames and smoke pour from the home of Jim and Maxine Perkins at 158 Mechanic Falls Road (Ropute 121) in Oxford on Tuesday morning. A state fire investigator said the cause was officially undetermined, but believed it was due to a wood stove, fire Capt. Shawn Cordwell said Tuesday night.