CAMDEN — Woody Proctor returned to his Molyneaux Road home Thursday afternoon, April 25, to find smoke, he said, bleeding from the side of his hillside house. The home had been built on a steep ledge sometime over the past 70 years, overlooking Hosmer Pond and with views of the Camden Snow Bowl.

A fire had broken out inside the home, and he called for help at 3:30 p.m. after trying to douse the fire himself with a bucket of water.

Firefighters from Camden, Hope, Rockport, Union and Lincolnville immediately responded, with tankers, engines and a ladder truck. An ambulance crew from North East Mobile Health arrived on scene, as well, while firefighters worked to contain the fire.

Five firefighters immediately entered the home to find the interior destroyed and smoke pouring from the roof. Others, meanwhile, climbed the steep outside stairs with hoses, ladders, axes and other tools.

The house has been in the family since 1968. Proctor and his brother live there, along with two cats. The orange cat was outside but a gray and white cat, Binky, is still missing.

The fire was contained to the interior of the two-structure residence, which is attached to another smaller camp by a breezeway. The seat of the fire was at one corner of the house, apparently where Proctor’s brother makes wood carvings. Proctor said he could hear the many small model paint containers exploding inside the house when he arrived.

While the Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal has been called, Asst. Fire Chief Andrew Lowe said the fire’s cause was possibly accidental and attributed to a burning candle left unattended inside the house.

The house sits at the intersection of Molyneaux Road and Hosmer Pond Road, whose name turns into Barnestown Road there. It is a corner lot and Proctor often has yard sales in the portion of the yard that borders the roads.

Tankers from Lincolnville and Hope kept water moving through hoses, with nearby Hosmer Pond as a standby resource.

As of 4:10 p.m., the fire was knocked down, and mop-up had begun.

The road remained closed to traffic until 5 p.m. Firefighters cleared the scene soon thereafter.

This article will be updated as details become available.