Gorham firefighters contained an early morning blaze on Monday to a bedroom in an Elkins Road home.
Responding to a call at 5:30 a.m., firefighters entered the home at 32 Elkins Road and halted the fire. “It was a good stop, the guys did a good job,” said Gorham Fire Chief Bob Lefebvre.
Homeowner David Doyon was not home, but his sister and her young daughter were there. No one was injured in the incident.
Firefighters said the blaze began earlier that evening when a fire begun by a burning candle spread to a nearby blanket. The fire was quickly put out and the incident was not reported to the fire department.
After the fire was out, the blanket was placed on the bed where it smoldered and ignited the mattress during the night. “The lady was in bed when the heat from the mattress woke her up,” Lefebvre said.
Firefighters said the fire did not spread to the rest of the house because the bedroom door was closed.
While the fire did not spread beyond the bedroom, there was smoke damage in the rest of the house. Total damage was estimated at about $5,000.
Lefebvre said the home didn’t have working smoke detectors. “Unfortunately, the batteries were out of the smoke detectors,” he said.
Lefebvre said on Tuesday that he thought the family was living in the home.
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