Garland - A family of five is homeless after a fire tore through their Garland home Thursday morning.


Just before 11 o'clock, a passerby at 29 Dexter Road called authorities with reports of smoke coming from the structure.

Fire crews from Garland, Corinth, and Dexter responded to the scene, but the house was already fully engulfed in flames.

"The whole front of the house was open flame, and it was very hot, even out at the roadside. Apparently it had been going for quite a while I would think, because it must have been smoldering inside before somebody noticed it," Capt. Jeff Belanger, of the Garland Fire Department.

No one was inside the home at the time of the blaze. Fire officials believe it started in a wood pellet stove in the kitchen, but State Fire Marshals are investigating the exact cause.

Meanwhile, family members of those who lived in the house have set up a donation fund for the victims.

You can send any donations to the Whitten family, at the Maine Highlands Credit Union. The address is P.O. Box 233 Dexter, Maine 04930.