BATH — No one was injured March 30 in a fire that gutted a 1270 High St. house.

According to Fire Chief Steve Hinds, the building may be repairable, too.

Bath firefighters received the call at 4:17 p.m. and arrived two minutes later. They were joined by units from Brunswick and West Bath, while Woolwich and Phippsburg manned the station.

The residents, Charles and Avis Nece, were already outside when firefighters arrived, Hinds said. The first firefighters on the scene found heavy smoke, and fire in the walls on each level of the house, he said.

It took about 25 minutes to control the blaze, and another 45 minutes to an hour to clean up hot areas, the chief reported.

The fire appears to have begun as a chimney fire, and “unseen issues” with the chimney allowed the fire to spread into the walls, Hinds said.

Although the house was gutted, with water, fire and smoke damage to most rooms, it can probably be repaired, according to the chief, who credited a working smoke detector with possibly saving the Neces and their house.

Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.

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Firefighters break through the roof of a single-family home at 1270 High St., Bath, where a fire broke out Saturday afternoon, March 30.West Bath Firefighters remove charred debris from the rear of the home at 1270 High St., Bath, while mopping up a fire on Saturday afternoon, March 30.


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