ISLAND FALLS, Maine — An Island Falls family was left homeless after an early morning fire Dec. 26, 2016 flattened their home, destroying all of their belongings.
Fire broke out in the home of Travis and Chelsie Casey sometime before 3:45 a.m. Saturday when the couple awoke to the sound of smoke detectors going off in their home on Merriman Road.
Travis Casey said the bedroom was “just as bright as the sun” as he and his wife quickly gathered their children — a 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son.
“I grabbed my daughter, and my wife grabbed our 1-year-old and we ran downstairs as fast as we could,” Travis said. “I could see the fire in the kitchen, so we had just one room to run through. The only thing I was concerned about was getting my wife and kids out.”
The couple made it to their living room, where Travis had to smash out a window to escape. He suffered a gash on his hand from breaking the window.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office was called in to investigate the cause of the blaze. Attempts to reach the investigator were unsuccessful by presstime. According to Travis Casey, the investigation was inconclusive. A wood stove was not in use the night of the fire, due to the mild temperatures on Christmas Day.
Island Falls Fire Chief Jeremy York said his department, along with crews from Oakfield, Patten, Sherman and Stacyville, arrived at the Merriman Road residence at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 26 to find the Casey home fully engulfed in flames. They remained on the scene until 9:30 a.m.
York said the home, garage and a barn about 20 feet away from the house were all destroyed. Two vehicles also burned in the fire. The Caseys were unable to retrieve any articles of clothing from the home before it was destroyed.
“I ran around to the corner of the house to try get my car, but both our cars were on fire,” Travis said. “One was in the barn, but the other was just in the driveway. So we had to walk to our neighbor’s house to call 9-1-1.”
Casey said by the time firefighters arrived, the barn and much of the house was already gone.
“Basically, everything was gone except for the living room,” he said.
He was able to retrieve a couple of rifles, two toys for his children and a bible and pair of boots for his wife. Everything else was destroyed, he said.
Articles of clothing are being sought for the family include girls’ size 4T clothes and child size 9-10 shoes; boys size 12 months clothes and child size 7 shoes; womens’ extra large tops, size 16-18 pants and womens’ shoe size 9; and mens 3XL shirts, size 38-40 shorts/pants and shoes size 12.
Items can be dropped off for the family at the Bethel Pentecostal Church in Oakfield or at the Green Valley Association in Island Falls, where Travis is employed.
Community support has been overwhelming, Travis said. The American Red Cross has assisted financially, while Vacationland Estates has provided a place for them to live temporarily and the Bethel Pentecostal Church has provided a church van for them to use for a short time.
The couple rented the home from Tom and Cheryl Harmon and did not have renter’s insurance.
A “GoFundMe” page — https://www.gofundme.com/c4gd3vn8 — has been created to solicit online donations for the family. As of Tuesday morning, $2,720 had been raised for the family.
