Century-old house burns in Norway

NORWAY — A more than 100-year-old house on Pikes Hill in Norway was destroyed by a fire early in the morning on Saturday, April 23.

Norway Fire Chief Dennis Yates said that the destruction was such that the remains had to be excavated and the Fire Marshal could not make any determination on the cause.

The call for the fire came into the Norway Fire Department at 12:23 a.m., reported by the owners of the house who had been out walking.

Norway crews arrived on scene within five minutes but found the building fully involved. At that point, said Yates, the building was "too far gone," for the department to save.

"It was a 100-year-old structure," said Yates "so, it went up fast."

Crews from nine towns, including Norway, Oxford, and Paris, responded to the blaze but could not stop the building from being completely knocked down.

Though the house and everything in it was lost, no one was hurt, said the fire chief. Owners Christopher and Mary Buckley were out of the house at the time of the fire, and their two children were gone for the night.

The family was left without a house and in a difficult position because the house was uninsured.

Yates said that the fire started in an upstairs room that had a history of electrical problems, but that the cause would ultimately go down as undetermined.

Pikes Hill Fire Photo: Chuck Blaquiere

OUT OF CONTROL — A house fire burns out of control on Pikes Hill in Norway around midnight on April 23. Fire crews from nine towns were not able to save the 100-year-old building from being completely destroyed.