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A family of four was displaced, but no one was hurt, when a mobile home near Stover’s Point caught fire overnight on Sunday, July 12.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire at 11 Eider Road was accidental, “most likely caused by the failure of heat tape wrapped around the home’s water line.”
Shausta Lamarre and her partner, Zach Hodgkins, lived in the home with their two children. Lamarre said the family was able to get out safely with their two dogs, but lost a bearded lizard named Lucy who was a Christmas present for their 7-year-old daughter last year.
Lamarre said they also lost many treasured belongings, including her father’s ashes and her late mother’s possessions. They did find her son’s ashes the morning after the fire.
Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue responded and “found flames visible beneath a home,” the Fire Marshal’s Office said in a news release. “Crews quickly extinguished the fire, preventing further damage to the residence.”
A photo from the agency shows extensive destruction, including gaps in the home’s roof and walls. Town records describe the building as a two-bedroom mobile home manufactured in 1986.
Lamarre said the family has rented the home for about five years. For now, they are staying at a nearby house with Jamie Crosman. Jamie Crosman’s parents, Jeffrey and Sherry Crosman, own the mobile home that burned.
Lamarre said the family has received some donations. She said they hope to stay in Harpswell, where her daughter is entering second grade at Harpswell Community School and Hodgkins works as a sternman on a lobster boat out of Webber & Sons Lobster on Quahog Bay. But she said it is hard to find rentals that will allow dogs.
Sam Lemonick contributed to this story.
