Blaze destroys Levant house, attached apartment

LEVANT – Shirley Simmons smelled smoke when she went outside to greet her husband Craig on Wednesday afternoon, but it wasn’t until she went to let out her two dogs that she realized her house was on fire.

With Wednesday’s high winds, the two-story Brann Road home was engulfed by the flames within minutes, she said. The house was destroyed along with an attached garage with an apartment. No one was injured.

“It was just awful,” Shirley Simmons said, standing up the road watching firefighters douse the smoldering pile that once was her home.

“I’ve got a sinus infection and I’ve been home sick all week,” she said, dressed in a Christmas-themed nightgown and wearing shoes borrowed from her daughter-in-law. “I’m just thanking God” that Craig was home. “I couldn’t have handled it on my own.”

The couple has owned the house, located in West Levant, for 18 years and share the land with Shirley’s son Matthew, and his wife and son who lived in the adjacent garage apartment.

“The wind was whipping it like a blowtorch,” Craig Simmons said, estimating that the entire structure and the garage were gone within 15 to 20 minutes.

The realization that she had lost her grandmother’s hutch and her family recipes made Shirley Simmons break down crying at one point, but her husband quickly offered her a shoulder. While the family watched the fire, numerous neighbors also stopped by to see if there was anything they could do to help.

Levant Fire Department received the emergency call at around 4:20 p.m. and Kenduskeag Fire Department was the first at the scene. Crews from Glenburn, Hermon, Stetson and Hudson also responded.

The fire trail indicated it started in the apartment and spread to the house, Levant Assistant Fire Chief Nathan Peary said. No injuries were reported.

The fire also burned a quarter-acre of woods behind the house before Stetson and Kenduskeag firefighters contained the blaze.

Two vehicles were destroyed and a large propane tank was removed from the area to prevent further destruction. Fire investigators were called to the scene, and arrived around 6:30 p.m. No cause was released on Wednesday.

The Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross was on hand to offer support and provide housing, food and clothing for the family.

“We filled prescriptions and got things they need for tonight,” Suzan Bell, Red Cross spokeswoman, said from the scene. “And we’ll continue to work with them.”

Whether the family has insurance is still an unanswered question, said Craig Simmons.

“I won’t know until tomorrow,” he said.

The family’s two dogs, Tori and Sweetpea, escaped the fire unharmed.”We never thought in a million years that this could happen to us,” said Shirley Simmons.