A fire on May 31 destroyed a house at 203 Mighty Street belonging to the Stephens family. While first reported as an outside fire in the bushes, upon the arrival of the first firefighter (who lived nearby), the fire had spread to the front of the building and had extended into the attic/roof area. When the first engine arrived five minutes later, the roof had already collapsed, and the house was totally involved. Units from Windham, Standish, Buxton, and Hollis assisted.

According to Gorham Fire Chief Lefebvre, contributing factors to the rapid spread of the fire were extreme dry weather, vinyl siding, high winds and light weight construction (truss roof) in the attic. The cause of the fire was a discarded cigarette in the bushes at the front of the house. The home was a total loss.

Lefebvre said, “This fire is an example of how fast a fire can spread and totally involve a structure. The total time from first report to collapse of the roof was eight to ten minutes.”