At least 11 dogs and four cats were killed and a house destroyed Tuesday night in a fire at 481 Mile Square Road in Avon, Phillips fire Chief Sean Allen said.
It took nearly 45 minutes to locate the two-story log cabin, which was up a one-quarter-mile driveway through very thick tree cover, he said.
The homeowners, Robert Hackett and his wife, Beth Carroll, were not home when the fire started, he said. The house is insured.
When firefighters arrived the house was fully engulfed in flames.
A vehicle in the driveway also caught fire and the blaze spread to the woods but was quickly put out by arriving firefighters, Allen said.
No one was injured, he said.
Investigators from the Office of State Fire Marshal were at the scene Wednesday morning in the Franklin County town. The fire remains under investigation, the chief said.

A resident of Wheeler Hill Road in Phillips saw the fire through the ridgeline and reported it about 9:40 p.m.
The fire was difficult to find, Allen said. Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies systematically went up each driveway on the road. Phillips, Farmington and Strong firefighters and Franklin County dispatchers worked to try to locate it also, and Phillips Fire Department put up a drone to see if that would help.
Four large propane tanks that supply the house and a backup generator that repeatedly started up complicated matters as the electrical power would arc, Allen said. Firefighters needed to cool the propane tanks before they could shut off the propane.
About 30 firefighters from Phillips, Strong, Farmington, Weld, Kingfield, Rangeley, New Vineyard and Temple responded to the scene. Firefighters left about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, Allen said. MaineHealth EMS ambulance personnel were also at the scene.
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less