Local emergency and fire crews fought a fully involved structure fire on Hunter Road in Dresden on Friday afternoon, April 24.

Dresden Fire Chief Steven Lilly said the house, owned by Janet Stewart, was a total loss, but there were no injuries to man or animal as a result of the flames.

The fire was reported at approximately 12:15 p.m. Friday.

Crews had to maneuver around a muddy road that soon became impassable after trucks drove to the house. Because the road’s condition was so poor, several hundred feet of hoses had to be strung along to provide water to the engines.

Lilly said that despite the inability to move all the equipment near the house, firefighters were eventually able to supply enough water to knock down the flames.

A passerby saw the flames, according to Billy Stewart, the homeowner’s son, who was at the scene of the fire. Someone in the adjacent boat storage lot reported that there was smoke pouring out of the house.

When fire crews arrived, they found the house fully engaged, Lilly said. At one point, a portion of the woods near the home caught fire, but crews were able to suppress that fire.

Two Yorkie dogs were outside when the fire started, ran away and are missing, Billy Stewart said, adding that they have been seen in the woods after that. On Monday, April 27 it was confirmed that the two dogs had been found safe and returned.

The fire sent up a large column of black smoke that could be seen for miles, and while the house was deemed a total loss, it was unclear what caused the fire, Lilly said.

He added that the state’s fire marshals would investigate, which is why the remaining support beams of the house and a fraction of the roof was left standing: to potentially provide the marshal’s office some evidence as to what happened, Lilly said.

Lilly said that high winds, compounded with the complications stemming from the damaged road, made the fire tough to battle at times, but at 1:15 p.m. the fire crews were able to leave it mostly extinguished.

Multiple agencies from Lincoln, Kennebec and Sagadahoc counties responded, including Dresden, Wiscasset, Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, West Bath, Richmond, Alna, Woolwich and Pittston fire departments.

Ambulance services from Wiscasset and West Gardiner also responded.