FREEPORT

State investigators continue to scrutinize a pair of recent incidents: one that leveled an ancient barn and another that sent a man to the hospital and killed the family dog.

Improperly installed equipment appears to have caused a carbon monoxide sickness incident on Woodside Lane two weeks ago, according to Sgt. Joel Davis from the state Fire Marshal’s Office.

The homeowner, Ronald Pelton, was overcome by natural gas on Nov. 19. His wife found him unconscious and called an ambulance. After spending several days in the hospital, he was discharged the day before Thanksgiving. The family’s dog was treated at the scene but succumbed to asphyxiation.

Few details have been released in the 10 days since the incident, but police and state investigators suspect the family’s oil-to-natural-gas furnace conversion was shoddily done.

“What caused the incident appeared to be a problem with installation of a heating appliance,” Davis said. “The investigator is working with the Maine Fuel Board … trying to narrow down whether the installer was currently licensed.”

He expects the investigation to be concluded by early December. “At that point, we’ll submit the report to the district attorney’s office and the D.A. will decide if charges should be filed.”

On Route 9 in Durham, a Nov. 15 barn fire reduced the aged structure to ash and rubble. An ell between the barn and an old farmhouse, which survived the blaze, had been removed just weeks earlier — which likely saved the house, one fire official speculated.

However, so much damage was done to the barn that investigators were not able to quickly track the blaze’s origins.

Part of the state’s dilemma is a lack of personnel: the fire marshal has only nine investigators to serve the entire state. With so many fires recently in the news and emergency call logs, all nine have been extremely busy since heating season began, unofficially, in October.

Richard Taylor, a senior analyst with the fire marshal’s office, downplayed any trend in heating system-related incidents.

He said that, although the number of fires reported might seem elevated, the actual track won’t be available until next June when the year’s end tally is reported by the all of the state’s fire departments.

Statistics for previous years can be found at the fire marshal’s page on www.maine.gov web site, under the Department of Public Safety tab.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com