MILFORD – Fire destroyed a home on Greenfield Road early Tuesday morning. The blaze also took with it the homeowner’s cats and an emu that were housed in an attached shelter.

The homeowner, Karen Trimm, reported the blaze around 2 a.m., Fire Chief Chris Matson said.

Crews continued to battle hot spots throughout the day, and firefighters returned to 133 Greenfield Road one more time with a truck around 5 p.m. to check the site where the ranch and two-story addition had stood.

“We were up there this afternoon and we couldn’t determine a definite cause because of the extent of the damage,” Matson said.

He added that the fire may have started from an extension cord or bad light in the rear of the house where Trimm kept her animals.

The extreme temperatures early Tuesday morning – as low as minus 3 degrees Fahrenheit according to the National Weather Service – hindered firefighters’ efforts.

“The area where the fire was isn’t a hydrant area,” Matson said. “We used a hydrant at the former stud mill, [but] because of the cold weather we had some problems with that.”

To get more water to the scene, the Greenbush Fire Department set up a fill site at a stream down the road, Matson said.

A couple of the firefighters’ apparatus froze while they were being used to battle the flames.

“With the cold weather, it makes it stubborn,” Matson said. “It makes everything twice as difficult and takes twice as long.”

The Red Cross was called and offered assistance to the homeowner, who is staying with family in the area. Matson said the owner was checking to see if the property was insured.

Red Cross workers provided food and hot beverages to firefighters at the scene.

“We had Cyr Bus send up a school bus to have an area for the guys to get in and warm up and rotate guys through,” Matson said.

Fire crews from Greenbush, Bradley, Alton, Old Town, and Penobscot Nation on Indian Island assisted Milford throughout the morning.