A garage and apartment were leveled by fire at the estate of Mrs. A. N. Chislom, North Brooklin, Friday morning.
The Brooklin Fire Department answered the call, but the garage was a mass of flame when they arrived. The Blue Hill Fire Department was called for support, but was not used.
The fire was discovered by Oscar Nicholson, caretaker, who had been transplanting plants. He said he had just walked past the garage and noticed no fire. While he was at work a short distance away, he heard a puff and looked up to see the garage burst out in flame.
Since the house is not now occupied, he had to run up the lane to reach a telephone, notifying the fire department and Deputy Sheriff Roy Blake Sr.
Brooklin Fire Chief Winslow Bowden said it was possible the fire started from a short in an underground cable. He estimated total damage at at least $5,000.
The fire was so hot when the fire truck arrived, it could not drive past it, Bowden said. A portable pump was used to pump water from a 30,000 gallon swimming pool nearby.
Destroyed in the blaze was a 1953 Plymouth. The two-story garage was remodeled upstairs last year to make an apartment for a chauffeur and maid.
