WINDSOR -- Thomas Batchelder returned from work just in time to watch the flames reach the second story of his Ridge Road home.

He and his family lost everything in the fire that reduced his house to a pile of charred rubble.

"I had about $12,000 worth of stuff in there," the visibly stunned 20-year-old said Friday night. "It's gone."

Charlene Batchelder, her son, Thomas, and her 16-year-old daughter lived in the 1890s-era residence with two other adults for a little more than two years. None of the home's occupants were injured in the fire, but two cats and two rabbits did not survive. The family dog and a third cat and her kittens were rescued, Windsor Fire Chief Arthur Strout said Monday.

Strout was alerted to the fire a little after 6:30 p.m. Friday and responded with six trucks, including a rescue van. His 18 volunteers were quickly reinforced by an additional 40 firefighters who provided mutual support from departments at South China, Jefferson, Whitefield, Coopers Mills, Hallowell and Somerville.

On the department for 49 years and serving the last two as chief, Strout's initial assessment of the fire scene led him to believe the building could be saved.

"We thought we could knock it down quick," he said. "But it was a 21/2-story house that had been repeatedly renovated."

Firefighters frequently associate renovations on 100-year-old homes with false walls, ceilings and roofs -- all places where flames are easily concealed. After dousing the structure with hundreds of gallons of water, Strout concluded demolishing the building was the only way to ensure the fire was extinguished.

"The fire was awfully hard to put down," he said. "This was the first time I ever had to tear a house apart to put the fire out. It was awful. You feel bad when people lose their home and it happens to be an old one that's been around town for a long time. But every fire's bad as far as I'm concerned."

Strout said the Batchelders were insured and plan to rebuild. They have secured a temporary place to live while they look for another home to rent in Windsor.

The family's efforts to embrace a new future is a major step forward from where they were when Red Cross worker Eric Lynes arrived Friday night with volunteers. The agency's disaster action team provided the fire victims with immediate aid including food, shelter and referrals to other emergency assistance organizations.

At one point, Lynes watched as a Red Cross volunteer simply hugged one of the fire victims for 10 minutes.

"We're trained to deal with these situations, but in the end, our people are volunteers," Lynes said Monday. "The Red Cross is not bricks and mortar -- it's people and it's hard not to feel bad."

The Windsor Fire Department cleared the Batchelder fire scene at 2:30 a.m. The state Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire as a standard procedure.

A.J. Higgins -- 623-3811 Ext. 431

ajhiggins@centralmaine.com

HOW TO HELP

Donations to help victims of fires in Central Maine may be sent to:

The Red Cross

Local Disaster Relief Fund

137 East Ave.

Lewiston, ME 04240