Elliotsville fire claims elderly couple

Staff Report

    ELLIOTSVILLE PLT — An elderly couple died early Saturday morning when fire swept their home in Elliotsville Plantation, just northeast of Monson.
    The bodies of George Beety, 78, and his wife, Laurette, 79, were found in the rubble of the one-story home on the Elliotsville Road. The fire was reported just after 1 a.m. by a neighbor and the house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, according to Monson Fire Chief Eric Melia.

    Both victims were found in or near the living room of the house and investigators think that they were attempting to escape the fire.
    The fire apparently started in the dining room; and although the cause cannot be determined because of the extensive damage, the wood stove was located there, according to a press release from the Maine Department of Public Safety.
    The house was a former seasonal camp that had been converted to a year-round residence, and only a couple of walls were left standing after the blaze.
    Fire units from Guilford, Shirley, Sangerville, Dover-Foxcroft, Greenville and Dexter assisted Monson at the scene as tanker trucks kept the water flowing due to sub-zero temperatures.