Fire flattens Amity home

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    AMITY — For the second time in three days, Houlton firefighters were called to a reported structure fire, which resulted in a home being destroyed.
    According to Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone, the 19 Monument Road home of Lee and Judy Putnam burned to the ground Sunday afternoon after firefighters were unable to extinguish the blaze. Just two days prior, the department responded to a structure fire in Houlton that destroyed the home of Woodrow and Janet Drake. (See separate story.)
    A neighboring resident spotted flames shooting into the sky in the area of the Putnams’ residence and called in the blaze at 2:45 p.m. The couple was not home at the time of the fire. Cone said the Putnams were on their way back home and actually had to pull over to allow fire vehicles to pass by on the road.
    “The person that reported the fire went over to the Putnam’s home and moved a pickup truck that was parked in close proximity to the house,” Cone said. “When we arrived, the house was totally involved.”
    Cone said he believed the fire originated in the west end of the building, which is an area of the home where the Putnams’ wood stove was located. The exact cause of the fire could not be determined due to the building being totally consumed.
    Twenty-seven firefighters responded with the department’s pumper, tanker, ladder truck and pumper/tanker. Additional support from Linneus and Hodgdon was received through the use of those department’s tanker trucks.
    Firefighters cleared the scene at 5:15 p.m. The building was insured.