HOULTON – A faulty compact disc player is being blamed for a fire early Tuesday that leveled a small house on B Road.

Tim Reel, whose age was not available, told Houlton firefighters he woke up at about 3 a.m. to take some medication. He turned on a light and the CD player. When he looked back, the top of the CD player was on fire.

Reel told Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone that he tried briefly to fight the fire with water he had on hand, but the fire spread to the walls, and he had to flee.

The Houlton Fire Department was notified shortly after 3 a.m. About two dozen firefighters came to the scene with a pumper, an aerial ladder truck and a tanker. The Hodgdon Fire Department was called for mutual aid and brought two tankers.

The single-story building, which Cone said was about 14 feet by 30 feet, was already engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

The building was owned by Robert Stanley and used for storage and as a summer residence by Reel. The house was not insured, nor was it equipped with a smoke detector, Cone said.

No injuries were reported.