A fire that tore through a home on Damariscotta’s Lessner Lane near Biscay Pond is considered accidental, according to Chief John Roberts of the Damariscotta Fire Department.

The fire destroyed the home of Milton Tibbetts of 90 Lessner Lane. The first call came into the department at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 7, for a kitchen fire.

Because the area is not served by hydrants, it was necessary to pump water from Biscay Pond and another pond into multiple tanker trucks, from Bremen, Bristol, Nobleboro, Newcastle, and Damariscotta. Waldoboro manned some of the stations that responded while the fire was being fought.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and Damariscotta police provided traffic control.

Roberts said that the apparent cause of the fire was a monitor heater that malfunctioned.

According to neighbor Steve Higgins, the homeowner was not present when the fire began. Higgins said that Tibbetts had gone to his mother's farm to help with her livestock. He returned when he was informed of the fire, and according to Roberts, was taken to Miles Hospital for evaluation. Roberts said he had not yet spoken to Tibbetts by Friday afternoon, and that he had received no word from the hospital about Tibbetts' condition. He said that the remains of a young lamb were found in the ashes of the fire, but no people were injured.

Several issues made this fire particularly complicated to fight. In addition to the distance to the water source, downed electrical wires to the property were a problem. Central Maine Power shut down the power to the neighborhood. Live ammunition was also kept in the home, and was going off while the firefighters were attempting to fight the flames. Eventually, foam was used to douse the remaining embers.

No other structures were threatened. Power was restored to the rest of the neighborhood by Thursday afternoon.