Bridgton fire caused by electrical

BRIDGTON — The cause of a November 14 fire that broke out around 8 p.m. in a three-story home on South High Street in Bridgton was accidental and electrical in nature, said Bridgton Fire Chief Glen Garland.

He said the owner, Charles Simpson, and one other person who lives at the home, were present when the fire started and were able to escape the building uninjured.

According to Garland, the fire was confined to a first-floor bedroom and mostly resulted in smoke damage. He said adjacent rooms received minor heat damage, but the fire did not spread beyond one bedroom.

A handful of other area fire departments assisted Bridgton and extinguished the fire within a half hour, Garland reported.

The scene was cleared around 11 p.m. after emergency personnel overhauled the building to ensure the fire was completely out.

Garland said multiple departments were required to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

"Initially we thought the fire would go much further," said Garland.

"The first crew on scene did a fantastic job getting the fire knocked down."