DIXFIELD — State fire investigators said the cause of a Monday morning fire that destroyed the house and barn of Allen Cobb at 8 Giles Road in East Dixfield is undetermined at this time, Wilton Fire Rescue Chief Sonny Dunham said Monday.

Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office will be back on the scene Tuesday to try to determine the cause, Dunham said.

Heavy equipment will be needed to dig through the debris of the main house, he said.

No one was home at the time when the fire erupted near the intersection of routes 2 and 17.

There were no injuries.

Dunham said the initial call came in at 3:50 a.m. for a structure fire at 8 Giles Road.

Fifty firefighters from East Dixfield, Dixfield, Wilton, Jay, Temple, Chesterville, and Livermore Falls arrived in the dark under a light rain to attack the fire in the 2½-story house and barn. They had to shuttle water to the scene.

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“This was fully involved when I got here,” Dunham said. “Fire was coming out all the windows in the back and all the windows up on top. Flames were probably 30 feet in the air.”

Spotlights from the Jay ladder truck lit up Cobb’s front yard.

A Central Maine Power lineman arrived at 5:15 a.m. and cut power to the house as firefighters continued to fight the fire. By 6:15 a.m. they were rooting out hot spots.

Traffic on Route 2 was diverted around the scene on More Acres Road. Traffic was also detoured off Route 17.

Chief Dunham said the house was insured and that a state fire investigator was expected to arrive later Monday morning to try and determine the cause.

The property was the former longtime home of state Rep. John Rollins and his wife Muriel Rollins.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com


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