Fire ravaged a single-family home on Moose Hill Road in Oxford Friday afternoon.
One firefighter suffered an injured ankle after falling outside the house. The fire was reported at about 12:30 p.m. The home is a total loss. Part of the roof collapsed, as did a portion of the first floor above the home’s two-car garage.
The cause is under investigation.
Homeowner Fred Weller was able to get out of the home — without his shoes, but otherwise unscathed.
“I heard the smoke alarm, then I saw the smoke coming from the basement,” Weller said. “I couldn’t do anything. There was too much heat and too much smoke.”
Weller lives in the home alone, and there was no one else there at the time of the fire.
He said the fire appeared to have started in the garage area, which is underneath the home.
When he saw the smoke, he tried to call 911, but said the phones didn’t appear to be working.
Weller said he had a brand new Subaru Legacy parked in the garage.
Weller’s sister, Sharon McEvoy, lives across the street, and said Weller will be staying with her for a while.
“What’s important is that he got out OK,” she said.
Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pelletier said firefighters were faced with tough conditions inside the house.
“We had heavy fire coming out the garage doors,” upon arrival, Pelletier said.
“Severe clutter” hampered efforts to extinguish the blaze.
Firefighters were called out of the structure just minutes before the roof collapsed.
After firefighters finished putting out the fire, Weller was able to grab a pair of his soaked shoes from the front doorway.
The address was 17 – 5 Moose Hill Road, according to tax records.
The ranch-style house was built in 1964.
