SUMNER, Maine — The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a fatal fire that destroyed an off-grid home in Sumner on Wednesday evening.

The Sumner Fire Department was dispatched around 5 p.m. to a structure fire on Valley Road after a caller reported seeing flames from a distance, according to the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Crews had difficulty reaching the residence because of its remote location and a roughly one-mile approach that required the use of ATVs and four-wheel-drive trucks. When firefighters arrived, they found an adult man dead outside the home.

The house, which was powered by propane and solar energy, was already a total loss.

Because of the death and the circumstances surrounding the fire, Sumner firefighters requested assistance from the State Fire

See Full Page