LIVERMORE FALLS, ME —
Investigators scoured the charred remains Wednesday of a three-story house on Main Street, trying to determine the cause of a fast-moving fire Tuesday night that left one man dead and two brothers injured.
Investigators Isaiah Peppard and Kenneth MacMaster of the State Fire Marshal’s Office checked the interior of the wood-framed house at 100 Main St. They were joined by Sgt. Joel Davis, a state investigator, later in the day.
Attempts to reach an investigator Wednesday night were unsuccessful.
About 50 firefighters from seven towns responded to the call at about 7 p.m., Livermore Falls Deputy Chief Scott Shink said Wednesday at the scene.
The house was rented by Robert and Amy Mosher, who lived there with their sons Collin, 13, and Brayden 11, and family friend Tori Lebel, according to Amy Mosher.
Firefighters entered the house through the back and were able to search the first floor, but could not get into the front room, where the body of Peter Dyer, 65, Amy Mosher’s uncle, was eventually found.
Firefighters went in through the back of the house, which was more than 200 years old, and searched the first floor but could not get into the front room, Shink said. They searched the second floor, but the family had already gotten out.
Firefighters were able to save a house about 8 feet away by dousing it with water, Shink said. The heat melted the vinyl siding on the house.
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LIVERMORE FALLS, ME (WGME) -- The State Fire Marshal’s Office has identified the man that was killed in a fire in Livermore Falls on Tuesday.
The victim was identified as 66-year-old Peter Dyer.
Dyer rented the Main Street home and lived there with other relatives.
Officials say his body was found in the first floor living room.
Fire investigators say the fire started in the living room and spread quickly to the rest of the house.
Two young brothers had to jump from the second story to escape the flames.
Fire investigators say the cause of the fire cannot be undermined because of the extensive damage to the building.
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LIVERMORE FALLS, ME (WGME) --
A man is dead and two children were injured after a fire destroyed a home in Livermore Falls.
The fast-moving flames left two children trapped.
Escaping from a third floor window and then jumping from the second floor, two children escaped the burning building, jumping into the arms of a police officer who was in the right place at the right time.
"I don't think you can train for that, instinct needs to kick in with that," Livermore Falls Police Chief Ernest Steward said.
There was no time to think, with a fire moving that fast, but for Sgt. Vernon Stevens, with the Livermore Falls Police, he knew what to do right away.
"Went to the residence to see what was going on, and when he got there he saw the two boys in the window," Steward said.
A 10-year-old and 14-year-old were trapped on the third floor.
Sgt. Stevens encouraged them to climb out the window and jump into his arms.
"The sergeant caught him and helped him, they both went to the ground,” Stewad said. “And then the second boy jumped, landed on a second roof and then bounced off of that onto the ground."
Both boys escaped with only minor injuries.
It was a heroic action by a public servant, who feels he was just doing his duty.
"He didn't want to be on-camera, he wanted the praise to be for the boys for jumping out of a three-story window like that, they were the brave ones, not him," Steward said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation and the two children who were hurt are said to still be in the hospital.