Firefighters extinguished a house fire in the Cumberland County town of Baldwin around 3 a.m. Sunday. Occupants of the home at 112 Douglas Hill Road did escape, and no firefighters were injured, but the house is a total loss, said Baldwin Fire Chief Steven Sanders.

“By the time they called, the fire was too far gone,” Sanders said. When first responders arrived, they immediately called a second alarm bringing more mutual aid to the scene, Sanders said. Before long, a third alarm was called bringing more help.

When firefighters arrived, “the house was fully engulfed by fire. There was no ability to make an interior attack. We couldn’t enter the house,” the chief said. “It was already too involved. It was pretty bad.”

It appears the fire may have started in the chimney given how badly the chimney had deteriorated, Sanders said. However, the State Fire Marshal’s Office came to the scene and determined that the cause was undetermined, but not suspicious.

The conditions were challenging with sub-freezing temperatures. Some fire equipment was damaged, Sanders said.

By 6 a.m. the fire was out.

First responders providing help included fire departments from Cornish, Standish, Hiram, Limington and Bridgton. In rural areas like Baldwin, firefighters rely on each other, Sanders said. “We can’t survive without mutual aid. We all help each other.”