BATH

A fire in Bath’s Hyde Park neighborhood overnight gutted the residence at
10 Bluff Street. Chief Renaud said that the interior, at least, was a
total loss. The roof was significantly damaged during the course of
fighting the fire. He said that the fire department had not yet met with
the property owner, so no insurance estimate was available by press time.

No cause has yet been determined. The Fire Marshall and the Bath Fire
Department are scheduled to go through the remains of the building
Wednesday morning. Chief Renaud said that a preliminary cause of the fire
might be available by midday.

Working the fire was hampered by the fact that overhead electric lines
were close to the roofline, and the electricity hadn’t been shut off. The
property is across the street from the site of last winter’s gas explosion
that claimed one life. Propane was not a factor in this fire, but clearly
that incident was on the minds of the neighbors who gathered outside in
the early morning hours.

No human lives were lost in the fire, reported early on Wednesday morning.
However, a cat was missing in the inferno. The cat was not located
overnight as firefighters entered the building.

Units from Bath and West Bath responded. The resident, Elizabeth Staples,
was offered temporary assistance from the Red Cross.