03/24/2008
BRUNSWICK — When fire trucks from Brunswick and five surrounding towns
arrived at 695 Pleasant Hill Road just after 2 a.m. today, they had no idea that
none of the three generations of family members who live there was at home.
"We had every reason to believe they were home," Brunswick Fire Chief Clark
Labbe said today. "There were lots of cars in the driveway, and the neighbors
said they saw them there yesterday."
So as firefighters from Brunswick, Freeport, Topsham, Lisbon, West Bath and
Durham fought the blaze near the intersection of Highland Road, Brunswick Police
Lt. Mark Waltz and Detective William Moir made phone calls, tracking down the
most senior generation of the family out of state, and then calling other family
members who were in Brunswick and Freeport.
The home is owned by Gerard and Patricia Dube, according the Brunswick tax
records. The family was on their way home early today, Labbe said. The house was
a total loss.
A passer-by called the fire in just before 2 a.m., Labbe said.
"I knew (the house) was fully gone before I got there," he said.
During the four-and-a-half-hour battle, Pleasant Hill Road was closed to
traffic. With no fire hydrants nearby, firefighters hauled water to the blaze.
Trucks cleared the scene at about 6:30 a.m., Labbe said, with no injuries
reported.
The State Fire Marshal's office and Brunswick detectives continue to investigate
the cause of the fire, but late this morning Labbe said it will be officially
classified as undetermined pending interviews with family members.
"There is just not enough there to investigate," he said.
A spokesman for the Mid Coast chapter of the American Red Cross said today that
they have not yet been contacted to provide emergency services for the family,
although they remain ready to do so.