Nicholas Kontos, who was working at a nearby junkyard when the blaze broke out, said he had been living in the single-story house for five years and did not have insurance.
“It wasn’t much, but I loved it,” he said.
The fire at 289 Bethel Road was reported at about 11:45 a.m. Fire crews from West Paris, Paris, Woodstock, Norway, Greenwood and Oxford cut holes in the roof to vent hot gases. Chief Scott Hunter of the Oxford Fire Department said there were a number of difficulties in fighting the flames, including high winds, cold temperatures, and a variety of items inside the house that inhibited movement.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Kontos said it may have stemmed from a wood stove he used to heat the house.
“I keep a couple of logs on the fire just so the house doesn’t get too cold,” he said.
Firefighters were able to save some possessions from the house.
Kontos said most of the items inside belonged to his sister,
Donna Paradis, who was murdered in Lewiston in 2007. He said he was
especially grateful that firefighters retrieved a record player that
belonged to her.
“I can fix this,” he said of the house, “but I can never get my sister back. That’s the way I look at it.”
Kontos’ nearby woodworking shop was undamaged by the blaze.
Hunter said Route 26 was shut down for about 90 minutes.
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