VEAZIE, Maine — A kitchen fire quickly turned deadly on Wednesday morning when smoke filled a two-story home on Highview Terrace and took the life of Lucy, the homeowner’s dog, that was hiding in a first-floor bedroom, Capt. Pete Metcalf said.
“They tried everything to resuscitate the dog,” he said. “We tried [a dog] oxygen mask. We also had assistance from Veazie Veterinary Clinic,” to no avail.
“It was a well-loved pet, that’s for sure,” the fire captain said. “We’re assuming it was smoke inhalation.”
The home is owned by Patrick Joyce, and his daughter and her friend, age 20 and 21, were asleep on the second floor of the home when thick smoke awoke them around 8:25 a.m. The two friends escaped the building, and called for Lucy, who did not respond.
Town and Orono firefighters quickly arrived and found flames and thick smoke in the kitchen area of the home, Metcalf said. Crews were able to extinguish the flames within 10 minutes and contain it to the kitchen area, he said.
“There was a very quick, very aggressive knockdown,” Metcalf said. “They did a good job.”
Sgt. Tim York of the State Fire Marshal’s Office said the fire was accidental.
“It looks like it was the result of a countertop appliance,” he said.
The kitchen had heavy damage from the flames, and the first and second floors have smoke damage, but for the most part it’s all cosmetic, Metcalf said.
“There is no structural damage,” he said. “If you were to drive by, you wouldn’t even be able to tell there was a fire.”
There were no working fire alarms in the home.
“There was one in the basement, but the battery was disconnected,” Metcalf said.
A dozen Veazie firefighters and six from Orono fought the fire. Local crews returned to the station at 2:38 p.m., but “that was after the fire marshals completed their investigation,” he said.
No injuries were reported in fighting the flames.
The two women in the home did have irritated throats, apparently from the smoke, but refused medical care, Metcalf said. In addition to the daughter who was home, Joyce has two children who were at school at the time, he said.
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