Maine Authorities Identify Body Found Following Fire In Meddybemps Last Week But Cause Remains Unknown

Remains discovered at the scene of a devastating fire in Washington County earlier in the month have been identified.

Firefighters from half a dozen fire departments responded to a blaze at 624 Main Road in Meddybemps on the evening of Sunday, November 17th. Once the fire was out, authorities discovered a body on the premises. The Maine State Fire Marshal's Office was called in to investigate, and the body was sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office to be identified.

Authorities now believe that the remains were those of the 86-year-old  homeowner, according to Lt. Aaron M. Turcotte from the Maine Department of Public Safety.

"The medical examiner positively identified him today as the homeowner, Vincent Dineen, DOB 8/22/1939. The cause of the fire is undetermined due to the extent of damage caused in the blaze."

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According to his obituary, Dineen was born and raised in Calais, one of six kids, graduating from Calais High School. He worked in the lumber industry for over 6 decades.

"For more than 65 years, during some harsh Maine winters, many loyal customers were kept warm with his firewood. When he wasn’t working, he enjoyed time spent with his family, good friends, and a good rum & coke, whether he was in Maine or at his winter home in Florida...He will best be remembered for proudly walking in Uniform with his brothers (“the Dineen Boys”) in the Annual International Festival Parades, for sporting about the area in his beloved ’33 Chevy with the little American flag on the mirror, and for ‘driving by’ in his tired red Log truck always with a wave and a smile. "

His funeral is scheduled to take place at Mays Funeral Home, 26 Church St., Calais on December 6, 2025 at 1 PM.