Another Fire in Fort Fairfield Claims Life of Resident [UPDATE]

Officials have released a tentative identification for a Fort Fairfield woman who died in the second fatal house fire in two days, as well as two dogs.

UPDATE: The State Fire Marshal's Office says the victim of this fire is likely to be 39-year-old Hope Phillips. A positive ID will come from the State Medical Examiner's Office. Phillips lived in the house with her boyfriend, Jeffrey Chasse. Two dogs also perished in the blaze. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but officials say they don't think it's connected to Monday's fatal fire across town.

Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says the fire was reported at about 6:15 Tuesday night. When firefighters arrived at the two story house at 117 Sam Everett Road, the building was engulfed in flames. Early Wednesday morning, the State Fire Marshall's Office recovered a woman's body from the rubble. Similar to the house fire on Monday that took the life of a 90-year-old resident across town, this fire caused much of the home to collapse into the basement, and that's where firefighters found the deceased.

Officials say a middle-aged couple lived in the house, but the man was away from the residence when the fire broke out. He arrived home to find firefighters on the scene and the house in flames. The name of the victim has not been released, pending notification of family.

We'll update this story as more details become available.