Investigators tentatively ID woman killed in fire in small Maine town
Investigators have tentatively identified a woman killed in a fire Tuesday night in Fort Fairfield.
The fire was reported at about 6:15 p.m. on Sam Everett Road.
The Maine Fire Marshal's Office said the victim is likely Hope Phillips, 39. The State Medical Examiner's Office will positively identify her body, officials said.
Investigators said Phillips lived in the two-story home with her longtime boyfriend, Jeffrey Chasse.
Chasse was not home when the fire broke out, police said, and firefighters were on scene when he returned.
Officials said the couple's two dogs were killed in the fire, which destroyed their home.
Fire investigators used an excavator to assist in examining the rubble of the house today, but no cause to the fire has yet been determined.
This is the second fatal fire in Fort Fairfield this week and investigators said there is no indication that the two fires are connected.
On Monday, a home on Densmore Road was destroyed in a fire. Investigators later found a body they believe to be of the 90-year-old homeowner, Dawn Findlen. Her body was also found in the rubble of the basement