Elderly Man Dies in Bucksport Fire

A Bucksport man died Thursday afternoon in a fire at his home on Central Street. 

Firefighters responded to the blaze at around 1:30 p.m., and found the body of 74-year-old Clifford Lambert in the kitchen,  according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Lambert lived alone in the single-story house.  State fire marshal investigators say the fire started in the living room, and the cause is likely related to smoking.

There was heavy fire damage to the living room and smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the house, McCausland said.

This was the third fire death in the state so far this year.  There were 25 people who died in fires in Maine in 2014, the highest number in 40 years.