CANTON — An early-morning fire destroyed a Lake Anasagunticook camp and took the lives of two dogs, investigator Dan Young of the State Fire Marshal’s Office said Wednesday afternoon.

The camp on Main Street was burned “flat by the time the Fire Department got on scene,” he said.

The fire was reported after 5 a.m. by Lucas Tree Co. workers who were traveling on Route 140, Young said.

“They were pretty far away from the camp when they saw heavy smoke rising in the distance,” Young said. “That tells me the fire was already going pretty good before they got there.”

Young said that when the tree workers stopped at the camp to report the fire, the first and second floors were engulfed in flames.

“I was hoping to get a little more from what the workers saw so I could narrow the cause to a smaller area, but the fire was already fully involved, so it’s hard to pinpoint where it may have started,” he said.

The Dixfield and Peru fire departments were the first engines on scene, Young said, and “by the time they arrived at the camp, the building was already burned flat.”

Young said he spoke with the owner’s son, who was living at the camp with his two dogs.

“He told me that he left the camp around 5 a.m., and left some fans on for the dogs,” Young said. “It appears there were some appliances running at the time, but because the building was burned flat before I got there, there’s not a lot to work with, in terms of figuring out what caused the fire.”

He said, “At this point, I’m not looking at the fire as suspicious in any way.”

“The owner’s son lost a lot of his personal property, including his two dogs,” Young said.

Firefighters cleared the scene around 1:15 p.m.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

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