Moira home heavily damaged in blaze

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September 24, 2008

No one home when building was gutted

By DENISE A. RAYMO The Press Republican Wed Sep 24, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

MOIRA -- Erika LePage bought her grandmother's house not long ago, keeping the ownership of the property at 724 South Woods Road in the family.

And it was family who gathered around her Tuesday when fire gutted the home about 10:15 a.m.

"We don't know how it got its start, but Erika had already left for work, so nobody was home," said her mother, Gayla LePage.

She said her 25-year-old daughter, who works for the Franklin County Department of Social Services Child Protective Unit, purchased the house about two years ago.

Firefighters from Moira, Brushton, Bangor and Dickinson responded to the blaze at the two-story, wood-frame home, which lies just off Route 11 near the Village of Brushton.

The south-facing side of the home was charred black where the thick smoke poured out from the first-floor window and climbed up the outer wall.

Wisps of smoke were still escaping the upper peak of the tin roof as fire teams planned the next stage of their attack, which would allow them to attack the fire from above.

The homeowner's father, Philip LePage, at first sat and later stood near the house, watching in silence as the volunteers worked inside and out.

"It is my mother's house," he said, his voice heavy with emotion. "I grew up in this house."

draymo@pressrepublican.com