Dec. 13--SWAN'S ISLAND, Maine -- Roughly two dozen firefighters from two islands were needed to suppress a fire that destroyed a house on Swan's Island on Monday morning.
The fire in the Stanley Point Road home began around 8 a.m. Monday. Crews from the Swan's Island Fire Department quickly went to the scene but had trouble extinguishing the blaze, which by then had gotten into the walls and attic, according to department chief Robert Gardner.
As a result, Swan's Island was forced to call for mutual aid from departments on neighboring Mount Desert Island for the first time since 2005, Gardner said. Luckily, the ferry was already across the bay, thereby allowing firefighters and equipment from Southwest Harbor and Tremont to make the 45-minute trip to Swans Island.
"They were a big help to us," Gardner said. The fire was largely extinguished by 11 a.m.
The house was owned by an elderly woman and her grandson, who were not home at the time of the fire. There were no injuries and the two residents were staying with nearby family, Gardner said.
A state fire marshal was on the scene Monday evening investigating the cause of the fire.
