A house at 7 Hugh Ave. on Bailey Island burned down early Friday, Jan. 23.
The four occupants of the house escaped largely unhurt, although one man was taken to a Portland hospital with “a burn injury to his wrist,” according to the Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office. Officials didn’t name the occupants.
The fire was reported around 2:40 a.m. “The building was already fully involved” when an engine from the Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department arrived, Wallace said.
Firefighters first focused on saving the home next door, which was less than 25 feet away.
“It was a miracle we were able to save it,” Wallace said. Firefighters could see the exterior starting to “off-gas” — a warning of imminent fire. But just a couple of hours later, the occupants were able to safely return to their home.
“That was a blessing,” Wallace said.
The Fire Marshal’s Office said the neighboring house, at 5 Hugh Ave., “sustained minor heat-related damage.”
Firefighters then turned their attention to the main fire, which they battled the rest of the night. They cleared the scene around 7:30 a.m., Wallace said.
Islanders reported hearing explosions during the fire. Wallace said firefighters observed at least one explosion, but he didn’t know what it was. He said the house had “propane tanks all over the place.”
Photos of the property show a pile of rubble where the house stood, as well as multiple burned-out vehicles.
“Investigators believe a generator and use of a heater may have contributed to the fire,” the Fire Marshal’s Office said in a statement.
The Harpswell Anchor reported on problems at 7 Hugh Ave. in September 2024, after the town invoked state law to clean up debris on the property. A contractor hired by the town used an excavator to remove six truckloads of trash.
At the time, neighbors complained about the state of the property and what they believed to be drug activity. Sheriff’s Office records showed hundreds of visits to the address between 2022 and 2024. Many were “property checks,” but a 2023 raid resulted in charges of receiving stolen property.
Town officials confirmed that the property was scheduled to go to a foreclosure auction on March 19 in Portland. A call to the law firm handling the auction was not immediately returned.
Town property tax records list the current owner of the house as Shania Richardson, as representative of the estate of Nye Richardson, her late father. The records say the two-story, three-bedroom house was built in 1985. The property is about a sixth of an acre.
In addition to the Orr’s and Bailey Islands Fire Department, the Cundy’s Harbor Volunteer Fire Department, Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue, the Mid Coast Hospital paramedic service, and the Brunswick Fire Department responded. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office provided support.
Town firefighters had returned to the property as of 10 a.m. Friday to extinguish “hot spots” in the rubble, Harpswell Fire Administrator Mike Drake said.
