Close call for Littleton family, as fire razes machine shop

Kenny and Suzanne Moran of Littleton lost their family business and much of their home in the early morning hours Aug. 23. Moran’s 19-year-old daughter, Loryn was awakened by the smell of smoke and upon looking out the window saw her father’s machine shop ablaze. About the same time a passer-by on Route 1 also stopped to render help. A person the Morans hope will stop by again as they do not know who it was.
    According to Littleton Fire Chief Dwight Cowpertherwaite, the fire began at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in the shop. It spread to the upper section of the adjacent home, owned by Kenneth and Suzanne Moran.
The Littleton, Monticello and Houlton fire departments responded and made quick work of battling the fire, extinguishing the flames in about an hour.
“It was a good combined stop,” said Cowperthwaite. “The downstairs of the house had hardly any smoke damage.”
Loryn awakened her parents and younger sister Whitney, 16, and brother Matt, 13, and all escaped the home before it too caught fire.
Moran, a volunteer fireman himself ran to the fire department located just beyond his neighbor’s house and got a truck while sounding the call to his fellow firefighters and for mutual aid from Houlton and Monticello.
The burning building gave off so much heat that while Moran was getting the truck in place for the other firefighters, he received second-degree burns on his forearms.
The 7,000 square foot machine shop where Moran manufactures parts for airplanes and power plants was totally engulfed in flames and threatened the home when firefighters arrived.
Moran credits the great work of all three departments for saving what they could of the house. The back portion where the children’s bedroom were received the most damage along with most of the second floor. The first floor received smoke and water damage.
A fire analyst was on scene Aug. 24 trying to determine how the fire started. The tool and dye machinery that Moran lost was valued at several hundred thousand dollars along with all of his office equipment.
Long-haul trailers were moved in by friends and neighbors to provide a dry place to store what personal items could be salvaged from the gutted house.
Both Moran and his wife are very grateful to the members of all the fire departments for saving what they could of their home.
Moran commented on the residents of the area and said, “It’s a great community, when one person hurts everyone is there.”
Even during this interview neighbors were stopping by to offer their help, taking bags of clothes to launder for the family and bringing food and drinks to those that were there helping.
At this time the Morans are staying with relatives in the area. The business and home were insured and the Morans hope to rebuild.
Staff writer Jon Gulliver contributed to this article.