SANFORD — A former selectman and former member of the town’s Airport Advisory Committee died in a fire at his home Tuesday night, likely overcome by smoke, authorities said.

E. Armand Talbot, 74, had left a Sanford Town Council meeting that had adjourned just a few minutes before and discovered the fire at his home at 9 Armand Lane off New Dam Road.

Maine Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland said Talbot went to a neighbor’s home to have them call for help.

“He then entered the burning house, likely in an attempt to put the fire out,” said McCausland.

Assistant Fire Chief Steve Benotti said firefighters were called to the home just before 9 p.m. He said when firefighters arrived there was heavy fire in the garage and heavy smoke in the house, which is located near Estes Lake.

Firefighters from Alfred, Kennebunk and Wells provided tankers to ferry water to the scene and firefighters put a portable pump in Estes Lake to draw water to fight the fire.

Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’ s Office say the fire started in the laundry room of the small home and they were to return to the fire scene today to try and pinpoint the cause. The house, a former camp converted into a year-round residence, was gutted in the blaze. 

Council Chairman Gordon Paul recalled that Talbot was gracious when Paul defeated him in the 1997 election for a selectman’s seat under Sanford’s former form of government. He said the two had exchanged pleasantries Tuesday night after the council meeting broke up.

Paul recalled Talbot was among those who worked as an administrative assistant for the municipality in the 1970s.

He was an avid motorcyclist and often made cross-country trips.

Paul recalled that Talbot was a founding member of the Estes Lake Association.

Talbot had been heavily involved in Citizens for Responsible Government, a group that met in the early 1990s.

Interested in the airport, he’d spoken at Tuesday’s council meeting, questioning a proposal that would relocate the airport’s fuel farm. A few years ago, after visiting a similar venue in New York, he suggested Sanford Regional Airport host a “Ragwing Rally,” that draws aircraft ”“ and the public ”“ to the airport for a day of fun.

Back in  2002, in an attempt to make a point about security at Town Hall and at Sanford Regional Airport, Talbot, who held a concealed weapons permit, brought an unloaded firearm to an Airport Advisory Committee meeting, a move that dismayed some fellow committee members. Talbot later apologized, saying he meant no harm by the action.

“He cared about Sanford,” said Councilor Joseph Hanslip, who said he often saw Talbot at a popular breakfast restaurant. “And there was a charitable side to Armand not a lot of people saw.”

“He was thought of as a watchdog, he always asked questions,” Paul recalled. “He was a well-respected person in the community.”

 — Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.