BOWDOINHAM

Firefighters from several departments battled a two-alarm fire that destroyed a home Sunday morning on Carding Machine Road.

The homeowners were not home at the time the fire broke out and were camping in Phippsburg.

Fire crews were called to 53 Carding Machine Road, the home of Tara and Anthony Plant, at around 5:30 a.m., where Bowdoinham Fire Chief Arthur Frizzle said they found the home fully engulfed.

He said the fire was too hot to enter the building so firefighters had to stay at a distance as they battled the blaze. The family’s two dogs were not inside the home, and survived; but a rabbit died in the fire.

No firefighters were hurt fighting the fire, which left the two-and-a-half story home a total loss. Inside the three-bay garage was a pickup truck that was not too badly damaged, Frizzle said.

The fire marshal’s office was called due to the extent of damage, Frizzle said, and an investigator was on scene Sunday working to determine the cause.

Frizzle said Sunday night that the origin of the fire was in the basement, but the extent of the damage was too extensive for the fire marshal investigator to be hopeful they will find anything definitive for a cause.

As of Sunday night the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Firefighters from Bowdoinham, Bowdoin, Richmond, Topsham, Lisbon, Dresden and Wiscasset fire departments battled the fire while Woolwich, Litchfield and Sabattus provided station coverage. On Sunday morning, temperatures were cooler than they have been in the past week but Frizzle said it was still warm and so extra manpower was called in so that firefighters could be on frequent rotations.

Frizzle said the house is a total loss and will allow for only minimal entry. Damage due to water and heat load left the second floor laying across the first floor in the main part of the house. He expects the house, which was built only within the last year, will have to be demolished.

With no hydrants on that side of town, Frizzle said tanker trucks drew water from a dry hydrant in a pond from a half-mile up the road.