SANFORD — A fire that swept through a single-story bungalow on Main Street early Saturday remains under investigation, said Sanford Fire Marshal Patrick Cotter, though he said the cause may be electrical.

The homeowner, Raymond Payeur, got out safely and no firefighters were injured.

Capt. Brian Watkins of Sanford Fire Department said a caller at 1:46 a.m. reported there were flames and smoke emanating from the side of the single-story, bungalow-style home at 1274 Main St.

Watkins said the occupant was alerted to the blaze by smoke detectors sounding and was able to get out unharmed.

There was fire showing from the front of the house when crews arrived, Watkins said.

Assisting in fighting the blaze or providing station coverage were firefighters from Alfred, Lebanon and Kennebunk. North Berwick Rescue provided medical coverage at the scene.

Watkins on Saturday said the fire was knocked down swiftly, by about 2:09 a.m., though crews remained on the scene until around 7 a.m.

He said the home sustained heavy smoke and heat damage to the interior and is not habitable.

Cotter on Monday said the cause may be electrical but that the investigaiton was continuing.

Payeur is said to be staying with relatives. 

Payeur, who came home from World War II and later started a real estate business, often posts messages on a sign outside his home, urging people to support the local food pantry and in support of veteran causes. In the lead-up to the weekend, he posted a message wishing people a Happy Easter. 

Last summer, when the news came that the remains of the USS Indianapolis had been found by a private research vessel, it brought back memories.

“I was thinking of all them guys,” said Payeur, who was a passenger aboard the Indianapolis for several days on his way to a duty assignment at Pearl Harbor. 

He posted a sign in his yard on that August day: “After 72 years, they found the wreck of my ship, USS Indianapolis.”

In an interview a couple of weeks after the discovery, Payeur, 93, said he remembered that cargo aboard the Indianapolis was heavily guarded by four Marines with fixed bayonets, though neither he or anyone else aboard knew exactly what the cargo was at the time.

Payeur said he stepped ashore and the Indianapolis continued on, delivering its cargo — which he later learned were components of the atomic bomb — to Tinian.

 The Indianapolis was sunk by Japanese forces on July 30, 1945.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.