Cigarette blamed in Hudson fire

HUDSON – An unextinguished cigarette that fell into a bag of trash caused a fire that destroyed a home on Pushaw Lake Wednesday morning.

Owned by Christine and Peter Thornton, the ranch style, modular home at 463 Beechwood Ave. was unoccupied at the time of the fire, according to Lt. Roger Sirois of the Old Town Fire Department.

Peter Thornton is out of the country and Christine Thornton and her son Richard Jordan, who lives with the couple, were not at home, Sirois said.

Carpenters working on a neighboring home reported the fire at 10:15 a.m., according to Sirois. The house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene at 10:39, he said.

Frost heaves and the narrow, icy roads impeded firetrucks’ progress, Sirois said.

Water was trucked in three or four miles from a hydrant at Cook’s Landing in Old Town.

Old Town firefighters responded because Hudson is accessible only through the Old Town side of the lake, Sirois said.

Also at the scene were firefighters from Glenburn, Bradley and Orono. Milford divided its crew between the fire and a bomb threat at the Lewis Libby School.

The fire was out in about two hours, Sirois said.