A space heater may be to blame for a large house fire in Falmouth on Monday that could be seen as far away as Portland and took 60,000 gallons of water to put out.
Fire Marshal Investigators say people who had been staying at the home told them a space heater accidentally caused a couch to catch fire earlier in the day, but they believed they had extinguished it before they left the residence.
However, investigators say it appears the fire may have rekindled.
The fire has been classified as “undetermined” because of the extent of the damage.
Falmouth Fire-EMS says departments from Portland, Westbrook, and Yarmouth helped battle the fire, from which numerous explosions could be heard.
Given the rural area, Falmouth Fire-EMS says they called in water tanker trucks from Cumberland, Windham, and North Yarmouth to assist. Additional tankers arrived from Freeport, Yarmouth, and Brunswick as well as the tankers took turns hauling water from a hydrant on Brook Road approximately 1 mile away to the scene.
Approximately 60,000 gallons of water was used to extinguish the fire.
Firefighters were on the scene for about five-and-a-half hours which took pace on Red Oak Drive in Falmouth.
The scene was cleared by 9 p.m. Monday.
