On October 18th, my sister Megan and her two kids Charlotte (12) and Will (2.5) lost everything in a house fire. They suspect a heat lamp in the chicken coop caught fire, which spread to the attached storage shed directly behind the house. Megan was woken up by what sounded like gunshots, and turned out to be bullets in the shed exploding. Megan woke Charlotte, whose bedroom was just feet from the burning shed, and told her to get outside and call 911. Charlotte did an amazing job keeping calm and giving the dispatcher all of the relevant information, including alerting them of the two propane tanks that were between the house and the burning outbuilding. Meanwhile, Megan got Will and their giant old deaf dog Reba out of the house and into the car. While they were talking to the dispatcher, they heard an explosion. The fire had reached the propane tanks, causing the relief valves to open, essentially turning them into giant blowtorches. This quickly ignited the house-- the exterior wall of the room where Charlotte had been sleeping moments earlier. They are so lucky to have gotten out when they did and escaped unharmed. Also escaping unharmed were their kitty, one bunny, and two hens. Sadly, one bunny and thirteen chickens did not survive

Megan and our entire family want to thank the firefighters from the Surry Volunteer Fire Department and departments from Blue Hill, Ellsworth, Orland, Sedgwick, and Penobscot who provided mutual aid. They worked tirelessly to save what they could and were very kind and compassionate while doing so.

The parts of the house that weren’t reduced to ash sustained smoke and water damage, and it’s expected to be declared a total loss. If you know Megan, you know she isn’t worried about the material things, but she will need some help putting life back together for herself and her kiddos. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide!