No one was injured when fires struck two Windham homes in the past week, destroying one on Gray Road and consuming half of another on Basin Road.
On March 15 a small house at 10 Basin Road caught fire at 1:18 p.m. Windham Fire Chief Charlie Hammond said resident Kim Holmes was in the house when a pipe from the kitchen wood stove running through a closet to the chimney ignited several objects. Flames then spread to the upstairs bedroom.
Hammond said firefighters, who had been conducting a training exercise on nearby Page Road, arrived at the home within two minutes.
Hammond said Holmes lived there with her boyfriend and another person and believes she has another home in Rhode Island.
On March 17 a second fire destroyed a century-old house at 584 Gray Road near the rotary at routes 202 and 302.
Hammond said Dennis Kesseler was working on his computer at 2 p.m. when a fire broke out on the other side of the house.
“A passerby stopped, banged on the door, and got him out,” said Hammond. He said Kessler got his dogs and computer out with him before the entire house was destroyed along with three vehicles parked outside.
“There is so little left we’ll probably never know what started it,” said Hammond. He said the house did not have a wood stove and no smokers lived there.
The fire was fought by firefighters from the Windham, Gray, Gorham and Westbrook fire departments.
Neighbor Wallace Wyman, who used to live in the destroyed house, saw it burn.
“I looked out the window and the roof was all black smoke and then the fire came through,” said Wyman. Wyman now lives next door but lived in the house from 1945 to 1962.
Hammond said smoke detectors should be maintained in all houses and people need to be careful with woodstoves and where the pipes are placed.
0321Fires1-2: Fire destroyed this home in Windham, reported to be a century old, Monday afternoon. No one was hurt. Windham Fire Chief Charlie Hammond said the white steam visible is a sign to fire fighters that the fire is almost extinguished.
0321Fires1-2: Fire destroyed this home in Windham, reported to be a century old, Monday afternoon. No one was hurt. Windham Fire Chief Charlie Hammond said the white steam visible is a sign to fire fighters that the fire is almost extinguished.
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