It was the dog in the kitchen with the gas stove and pizza box.
That’s what investigators believe led to the Father’s Day fire that completely destroyed a home in Searsmont.
The homeowner was awoken about 1:30 a.m. Sunday when his dogs began whimpering and barking at the Levenseller Pond Road home, according to the Pen Bay Pilot.
The homeowner, three kids and both dogs made it out safely, though the man suffered burns on his feet and legs, the Pilot reported.
The fire completely destroyed the home.
Investigators with the Maine fire marshal’s office believe the fire started in the kitchen, where a cardboard pizza box was left on the gas stove. In one likely scenario, one of the dogs tried to steal some of the pizza but accidentally hit the knob on the stove, igniting the box, the Pen Bay Pilot reported.
It’s the second blaze to hit a home on Levenseller Pond Road this year. On April 21, a fire burned through another home on that road, leaving a family homeless.
