Safety officials probe Lebanon fire where man's body was found amid rubble

Flmes fully engulf a house in Lebanon where one man was found dead amid the rubble. (Mike George photo)

LEBANON, Maine - A man's body was found in the rubble of a Lebanon home destroyed by fire on Friday.
State fire investigators got involved around noon when the Lebanon Fire Department requested assistance from the state Fire Marshal's Office for a fire on Smith Road where a large residence had burned to the ground, according to a press release from the state Dept. of Safety.
Inside the structure fire investigators located the body of a deceased adult male who was transported to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta for an autopsy to determine positive identification, officials said.
A second occupant of the home managed to escape the fire and was found standing by the side of the road when firefighters first arrived on scene shortly before noon.
They were transported to a local hospital with what were described as nonlife threatening injuries.
Firefighters then learned there was an elderly man trapped inside the building, however the flames were so intense they were not able to enter the 2,400 square foot structure.
The fire was declared under control around 1:30 p.m.
Mutual aid responded from Sanford, Berwick Shapleigh, South Berwick, Alfred and Acton as well as Somersworth and Rochester, N.H.