ATKINSON, Maine – An Atkinson home was destroyed by a devastating barn fire on Wednesday morning.
Twelve fire departments from Piscataquis and Penobscot counties were dispatched to a home on North Stagecoach Rd. shortly after 1:30 a.m. to investigate a garage fire.
Prior to their arrival, the case was upgraded to a barn fire that spread to the two-story farmhouse where a couple was sleeping.
This call came from three teenage boys who saw the massive barn fire on their way home from New Year’s Eve.
Their call to action did not end with calling 911.
“I was like, ‘We got to go in quick’, and then we knocked on the door, nothing, and we had to open the door and wake them up,” remembers Colby Simmons, who is sixteen years old. “They had no idea that their house was burning, and we got them up and they put clothes on, and then we got them out.”
Accompanied by Robert and Kaleb Weymouth, 16 and 14, respectively, they describe witnessing the barn collapsing, dodging falling pieces of wood, and hearing loud bangs and propane tanks hissing as they helped the couple to safety.
Firefighters battled the fire until 8 a.m., but were called back at 11 a.m. due to a rekindling in the attic.
“We were able to salvage some jewelry, some pictures, and a few personal items, but the majority of the home was totally destroyed,” says Dover-Foxcroft Fire Chief Brian Gaudet.
According to Gaudet, heroic acts by bystanders such as the teens aid responding departments: “It changes our response knowing everybody’s out of the building.”
For the three teenagers, confronting the flames was well worth the risk if it meant saving lives.
“That could’ve ended really badly if someone wasn’t there,” says Robert Weymouth. “Cause it took a while for everyone else to get here.”
“I’d want someone to do that for me, too, if my house was on fire,” Kaleb Weymouth says.
Gaudet claims that this is the second time in his career that someone has entered an active house fire to rescue those inside.
“It’s very heroic and I wish there were more people in the world like these guys,” commented Gaudet.
According to authorities, the Maine State Fire Marshals Office will be on the scene Thursday to investigate the cause of the fire.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury, but everyone else is safe.