Levant blaze wrecks firefighter’s home

LEVANT – A volunteer firefighter left his home in a hurry Sunday afternoon, rushing to the scene of a fire, but before he walked out the door he forgot to turn off his electric stove and remove a pot of grease from its surface.

When Dale Getchell returned home just after 3 p.m. from the small mattress fire on Francis Lane, he found firetrucks in his own driveway.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Getchell said as he manned a radio at the fire scene of his home. “I really don’t know. I was up at the other scene.”

Fire ripped through Getchell’s trailer at 15 Rugosa Lane, gutting half of the building, according to Assistant Fire Chief Nathan Peary. The fire destroyed much of the kitchen area, but firefighters were able to save many of the things in Getchell’s bedroom, including clothes and old records, he said.

“We opened the back door and flames just shot right out,” Peary said.

Peary said the firefighter was most concerned about his cat, which was inside at the time the fire broke out.

Getchell’s neighbor, Steve Philbrook, said he saw smoke, ran to the trailer and from the outside broke a couple windows to grab the gray 4-year-old cat sitting near the windowsill, trapped inside.

When asked the name of his cat, Getchell replied, “Smokey,” and gave a small chuckle. Smokey was hooked up to oxygen and will need surgery today to mend two tendons in his paws that were cut when the window was broken, said Peary.

Getchell was renting the cream-colored trailer from Larry Carr of Holden, who owns the trailers on that road, Peary said. Carr had homeowners’ insurance on the trailer, but Getchell did not have rental insurance, he said.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office investigated the incident and concluded the unattended pot of grease caused the blaze, Peary said. Getchell said he was making dinner when he heard the Francis Lane fire call. He had been heating grease on the stove to cook french fries and cooking a steak on the grill on his back porch. He remembered to turn off the grill, but not the stove, Peary said.

Getchell spent the night in a small camper that was parked next to the trailer but remained untouched by the fire. Peary said he would call the American Red Cross to see what assistance they could provide for his fellow firefighter.

Fire departments from Levant, Carmel, Kenduskeag, Hermon, Stetson and Glenburn responded to the blaze.

“It is sad we had to work on a fellow firefighter’s home, but we just have to go in and do our job,” Peary said. “The guys went in and did an excellent job.”