Firefighters battle electricity, low water, wind at South Thomaston fire
SOUTH THOMASTON — Investigators from the Fire Marshal’s Office are working to determine the cause of a fire that broke out at 27 Westbrook Street, in South Thomaston, Saturday night. Firefighters faced multiple factors in response to the house fire, starting with the simple act of getting there.
Heavy flames were visible from the rear of the one-story structure after 9 p.m., Aug. 23, 2025. Until recently, no electricity was running to the house. Yet, upon arrival, personnel were stopped short by a live electrical wire across the road that had burned off the side of the house. Until Central Maine Power could cut power to the area, crews entering the scene from Route 131 were forced to turn around and follow Route 131 into St. George and around to Route 73 to enter Westbrook Street.
Upon arrival, crews found the occupant of the property aiming a garden hose at the flames. Crews took over, stretching their own attack line against a persistent wind that was blowing smoke toward firefighters from the outside, while inside, the flames were pushing through the house.
With drought-like conditions looming over Maine, water supply quickly became an issue. Normally, crews would have pumped water from a nearby pond. However, the pond water was so low as to be muck, which meant that hose water needed to be trucked in from the South Thomaston Fire Station. To handle the incoming water, two dump tanks were set up – one from a STFD tanker truck and one from a Warren FD tanker truck. According to Fire Chief David Elwell, some area towns, such as Rockland and Thomaston, don’t have water catch pools since they don’t have tanker trucks.
“Once we got water supply, we were able to knock it down pretty quick, and then get in there and do the hotspots,” said Elwell.
South Thomaston Ambulance took over care of the property’s occupant, who’d started to become unwell after emergency crews arrived. South Thomaston Ambulance transported the patient to the hospital and St. George Ambulance took over scene coverage until the other ambulance was available again.
Once the fire was out, fire crews watched hotspots in the eaves while they waited for the investigators make their assessments.
Fire personnel also responded from Owls Head and St. George, as did deputies from the Knox County Sheriff's Office. No injuries to responders were reported.
The last remaining fire units left the scene at 2 a.m.
Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com