LINCOLNVILLE — The Lincolnville Fire Chief managed to get in a shower before being called to the second house fire within 9 hours. Sleep was not to be. Both fires occurred in his town, and both houses are now total losses.

 While fire investigators were responding to the Old Stone Road addressed, they came upon a second structure fire in Lincolnville.  This fire occurred shortly before 8:30 am at 20 Mass Pike. The single-story residence was likely started by the woodstove. The homeowners were not home at the time.

By the time Lincolnville FD and its mutual aid began recoiling their hoses and repacking their equipment from the second fire, at 20 Mass Pike, most firefighters who’d attended both blazes were still able to smile, and urns of hot coffee donated to the scene assisted with nerves and focus, though small irritations were still less tolerated than usual.

First firefighters to Mass Pike encountered a single story structure down a long one-lane drive with smoke and flames visible.

No people or animals were injured, according to Lincolnville Chief Don Fullington III; however, an indoor/outdoor cat had not yet been accounted for by 10:45 a.m.

Responding to the second fire, which was reported at 8:25 a.m., Dec. 20, 2024, were Belmont, Belfast, Northport, Hope, Rockport, and Camden. However, with Hope FD still en route, a call came in regarding a fuel truck caught up in utility lines on the edge of Route 52. This required a unit from the Mass Pike fire scene to redirect to Route 52 and stand by with police for a short time until Central Maine Power could arrive with its own crew to assess and repair.

And then, while the scene at Mass Pike Drive was still a beehive of activity, a crew of Camden firefighters detached and returned to 13 Old Stone Road (initial fire reported at approximately 11:55 p.m., Dec. 19) where fire had rekindled, smoke still fluttered, hoses were turned back on, and a Fire Marshal’s Office investigator began interviews.

After stopping at the fuel truck issue on Route 52, Hope FD was assigned to station coverage at Camden FD. When Camden FD finished with the rekindle, they returned to their station. When the investigator finished at Old Stone Road, that investigator started a new investigation at Mass Pike.