Kezar Pond home destroyed by fire

By Lisa Williams Ackley

Staff Writer

FRYEBURG — A seasonal home off Carter Hill Road on the shore of Kezar Pond owned by a family from Massachusetts was destroyed by fire Saturday afternoon.

Asked if the origin of the fire, that was reported by a neighbor around 3:45 p.m. on May 5, is suspicious in nature, Fryeburg Fire Chief Ozzie Sheaff replied, "I don't believe so — it doesn't appear that way." No one was staying at the house, according to Sheaff.

The fire chief said the State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause of the blaze that destroyed the home owned by John Foley Sr. and John Foley Jr., both of Wilmington, Mass.

Chief Sheaff said fire trucks from Fryeburg, Saco Valley Fire Department and Bridgton Fire Department navigated the three-mile long, narrow, sandy road, in order to reach the fire scene.

There were no injuries sustained by those fighting the blaze that consumed the 20-foot by 20-foot main house and a 20-foot by 16-foot addition, as well as a shed and two small rowboats, according to Sheaff.

"The fire went in to the woods a little bit," Fire Chief Sheaff stated. "A couple of the trees had the sap boiled right out of them by the heat of the fire and it split the bark right off the trees. The marks left on those trees make them look like they were struck by lightning, but they weren't."

"We used portable pumps in the pond, and we shuttled water in tankers, as well," to battle the blaze, the fire chief said. "We were all wrapped up and cleared the scene, at 7:30 p.m."

Sheaff said the structures that burned are a "total loss."