Fires at 5 and 3 Ware Road in Freeport that left people homeless Sunday and Monday were coincidental, Fire Chief Darrel Fournier said Monday.
Fournier said that Lester Scott Jr. and his adult son are left homeless following the fire that struck their mobile home at 5 Ware Road on Sunday afternoon. Early Monday morning, fire destroyed a double-wide manufactured home located next door that was rented by Robert and Nichol Argraves and their two children.
There were no injuries in either fire, the chief said, but Scott had just let his homeowner’s insurance expire, and the Argraves did not have renter’s insurance. The Red Cross was arranging temporary housing for both families.
Fournier said that neighbors on Ware Road were concerned regarding the cause of the fires following the second one.
“It’s really coincidental,” he said. “The neighborhood was concerned, but neither fire was suspicious.”
Firefighters responded to Sunday’s fire at 1:27 p.m., and arrived 10 minutes later. Someone had been cooking in the kitchen, and left the stove unattended, Fournier said.
“When we got there, we had fire showing through the roof,” Fournier said.
About 10 hours after firefighters left the first fire, they responded to 3 Ware Road at 6:35 a.m. Monday, and arrived at 6:45. They had the fire under control at 7:15, but it was too late to save the home, Fournier said.
The state Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the second fire, and determined that grease left on a stove in the living room/kitchen area had caused the fire, Fournier said.
The couple has two school-aged children, Fournier said. The family lost two dogs and a cat in the blaze.
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