By Lisa Williams Ackley

Staff Writer

WATERFORD  — A house on Deer Hill Road just over the Harrison town line here was heavily damaged by fire Friday night, with firefighters from as many as seven area towns responding to the scene.

The home’s owner, Rex Rolfe, was not at home when the fire broke out and no one was injured.

Assistant State Fire Marshal Joe Thomas told The Bridgton News Wednesday morning that Investigator Dan Young, who has been assigned to investigate the cause of the fire, first visited the scene of the blaze Jan. 3.

A person called the Oxford County Regional Communications Center from Summit Hill Road in Harrison just before 8 p.m. on Dec. 30, saying they could see “a red glow” on what they believed to be Deer Hill.

The building was totally engulfed in flames, when firefighting personnel arrived on scene and tanker trucks shuttled water up the hill from Woodsum Brook by Crystal Lake along Route 117 near Maple Ridge Road.

The Waterford Fire Department was assisted with mutual aid by fire departments from Bridgton, Harrison, Naples, Norway, Otisfield and Paris, both at the scene and covering fire stations. Tankers dumped water into a portable tank located at the bottom of the steep, one-eighth mile driveway leading to the burning structure.

Firefighters from neighboring communities cleared the fire scene around 10:30 p.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office.