Two people received minor injuries and a Flying Point Road home sustained an estimated $10,000 in damage after an electrical candle short-circuited and ignited a secondstory blaze Dec. 22.

Passers-by saw the blaze at 4:44 p.m., called the fire department and then went into the house and tried to douse the flames with water. The good Samaritans, whose names were not immediately available, were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene by emergency personnel.

Freeport Fire Chief Darrel Fournier recognized that their intentions were good but cautioned against such actions.

“I definitely do not recommend that citizens go into these building fires unprotected,” he said. “They were very lucky that they didn’t get seriously injured or killed.”

Homeowners Thomas K. and Susan P. Hatch were not home at the time of the fire, which was confined to a second story bedroom. Smoke damage was limited to the second floor, the chief said.

“It started from an electric candle in a window, with a short circuit to that particular candle,” Fournier said.

At the time the passers-by made it into the house, “the curtains had caught fire and dropped onto the bedding, and the fire was quickly accelerating from that point.”

Despite the damage, the Hatches were able to get back into the house that evening.

Freeport received mutual aid at the scene from Brunswick Fire Department while Yarmouth firefighters provided station coverage.