WEST FAIRLEE — A house fire Thursday evening destroyed a single-story home on Beanville Road.
One person and two dogs were in the home when the fire started.
“All animals and people are accounted for and safe,” West Fairlee Fire Chief Cory Austin said in a phone interview Friday morning.
Firefighters believe a misplaced cigarette on the home’s deck caused the blaze, although an official cause has yet to be determined, Austin said.
Fire departments from Thetford, Vershire, Strafford, Hanover, Lebanon, Tunbridge, Chelsea, Norwich, Haverhill, Bradford, Fairlee, Corinth, Orford and Tri-Village — which serves Topsham, Vt., and part of Orange, Vt. — responded to the call, which came in around 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Firefighters remained on the scene for about two and a half hours, Austin said.
Although there are only four members of the Bradford fire department remaining after the majority of the department resigned earlier this week, “they were able to fulfill what was requested of them,” Austin said.
On Monday, a brush fire — also on Beanville Road — torched 5.6 acres, while a smaller brush fire off of Upper Plain Road in Bradford simultaneously burned. Thursday’s house fire was unrelated to the brush fires earlier in the week, Austin said.