A Raymond house was destroyed by fire Tuesday night, but the residents and their pets escaped unharmed, according to the fire chief.
A resident of the home at 18 Winding Way smelled smoke and opened the basement door to find flames, fire Chief Bruce Tupper said Wednesday morning from the fire scene as crews put out hot spots. Tupper lives a few houses away and saw fire through the trees just after the fire department was notified around 7:45 p.m.
“It was already cranking through the whole house, unfortunately,” he said. “It was pretty well gutted.”
Floors in the home were collapsing when firefighters arrived on scene, forcing them to fight the fire from the exterior only. Firefighters from Gray, Poland, Otisfiend, Standish, Casco, Windham and Bridgton were called in to help put out the fire and haul water to the scene.