NEW GLOUCESTER — Fire damaged a house on Intervale Road early Saturday afternoon. No one was home at the time. The family’s two dogs were removed by firefighters but were unharmed.

The New Gloucester Fire Department got a call just after 1:30 p.m. from a neighbor who saw smoke coming from behind the one-story house at 417 Intervale Road. The back wall of the house was on fire.

The neighbor put out much of the fire with buckets of water but couldn’t get it all. Firefighters extinguished the whole thing in less than an hour.

Firefighters believe the fire was started by smoking material left in an outside plant pot next to the house. Fire Chief Gary Sacco estimated the damage at $10,000 to $15,000, with minimal smoke damage inside.

ltice@sunjournal.com