The fire at Christine Sproul's house, 40 Sproul Lane, Boothbay on Friday afternoon, April 22, reignited early Saturday morning and destroyed the house. Firefighters were able to save the nearby garage.

According to Boothbay Fire Chief Dick Spofford, the initial fire started in the basement, according to the fire marshal. The fire started around 3:45 p.m.

"The house had old wiring and fire spread up into the kitchen under the stove," said Spofford Sunday morning. Fire spread into the second floor but didn't get into the ell of the house after we had knocked it down."

Spofford said Mrs. Sproul and her caregiver had just returned from a doctor's appointment, and about the same time, Spofford's son, Jared Spofford, a Boothbay firefighter, was driving past the house when he noticed smoke billowing out the eves of the house.

With mutual aid from area fire departments, Spofford said the scene was able to be cleared around 8 p.m.

"Everything was cold then," said Spofford. "And at around 10 p.m., Chris's grandson, Adam Sproul, a former Boothbay firefighter, checked the house and everything was fine."

Spofford said Chris and her caregiver were staying at Chris's daughter-in-law Mary Batakis' house down the road for the night.

"At about 1:45 a.m., Boothbay Harbor Fire Chief Nick Upham, who also serves on the Harbor's police department, was finishing a shift when he smelled smoke. He called in the fire. When we got there, fire was coming out of every window."

"They were lucky they didn't decide to stay in the house," said Spofford.

Ten years ago, on April 25, 2012, Christine's son, Mike Sproul, 54, died in a fire at his home less than a mile away from her home, said Spofford.