OXFORD – The second major structure fire on Robinson Hill this year has forced out another family, this time right before the holidays.

George and Carol Rowe of 304 Robinson Hill Road will be spending Christmas at the Ledgewood Motel in Norway after their home was heavily damaged by a fire Wednesday morning, said their son Richard Rowe.

Richard Rowe said Maine State Fire Marshal Richard Shepard told his family the fire likely started in the kitchen and may have been caused by squirrels chewing on electrical wires in the house.

The fire happened about 1 a.m., Rowe said. His mother was in the kitchen on the computer when it began.

“She never smelled a thing,” he said.

It wasn’t until Carol Rowe opened a door to the upstairs that she noticed the smoke, he said. She called 911 and then her son next door. Rescue personnel were on the scene before Richard Rowe was dressed and out of the house, he said.

The 911 call came through at the Oxford Fire Department at 1:05 a.m., according to Lt. James Perkins. “Initially it didn’t look like it was going to be too bad, but then she started breaking out,” he said. “We stopped it.”

But while the fire was quickly contained, fire crews were at the residence until 11 a.m., Perkins said.

“I know there was extensive smoke and water damage, and to at least one side there was extensive fire damage,” he said. “A lot of times the smoke and water can do more damage than the actual fire itself.”

The building’s charred interior could be seen through the front door, and a black hole mars the roof next to the chimney. Christmas lights and a pink flag at the front of the structure appeared to be untouched.

Perkins said fire departments from Norway, Paris, Otisfield, Mechanic Falls, Poland, Casco, Hebron and, he believed, Minot, responded to the scene.

An Oxford police officer helped George Rowe, who uses a wheelchair, to get to his son’s residence, Perkins said.

Richard Rowe said it was his mother, however, who lifted his father from bed and got him into the wheelchair so he could be taken from the burning house.

“I don’t know how she did it,” he said in astonishment. Rowe said his father is in his 80s, and had served under Gen. George Patton during World War II.

Richard Rowe’s house, at 290 Robinson Hill Road, is not handicapped-accessible, he said. His father was in the living room but declined to speak with the Sun Journal.

The American Red Cross has been assisting the Rowes.

Douglas Hoyt Sr., executive director of the United Valley chapter of the Red Cross, said Wednesday that his agency will be arranging for several days’ lodging, food and clothing for the Rowe family.

On Wednesday, construction crews were working on the Gay De Hart and Charles Howes residence across the street from the Rowes’. It was Aug. 3 when that property was damaged by a fire that started when the barn was struck by lightening.