Fire guts Weeks Street residence

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
 HOULTON, Maine — A March 4 fire left a Houlton woman and her two children homeless after the Weeks Street home they were renting was gutted by fire.    Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone said Thursday that Ashley Belyea, who was home at the time of the fire with her 8-year-old daughter and 2-month-old son, was renting the residence. The home belongs to Larry Cochran of Houlton.
Firefighters were called to the residence at 4:39 p.m. for a report of a grease fire. Twenty-three firefighters responded and found flames rolling out of the first floor windows.
Upon investigation Wednesday by Tim Lowell of the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the cause of the fire was attributed to unattended pans left heating on a stovetop which combusted and spread up the walls to the second story.
Houlton Ambulance crews took all three of the family members to Houlton Regional Hospital for evaluation, according to Cone, but none were admitted. Firefighters were on the scene for about four hours.
Cone said although the frame of the building was still intact, the interior suffered significant smoke, heat and water damage.
Cone did not know if Belyea had renter’s insurance.