2/9/2002 James W. Dickinson TURNER James W. Dickinson, 58, a resident of Main Street, Turner died tragically Wednesday, Feb. 6, as a result of a house fire. He was born on April 22, 1943, the son of Willard and Irma N. Fitzpatrick Dickinson. He attended Leavitt Institute in Turner. He earned a doctorate in counseling psychology after graduating from the New Division of Bowdoin College in Brunswick. He spent most of his adult life in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where he worked as an admissions officer at Empire State College, a research associate for the Kellogg Institute at Goddard College in Vermont, and a bartender at the Tin and Lint and the Hub Club. He returned to Maine in 1992 to care for his mother in Turner. He is survived by two aunts, Frances Dickinson Walker of Calais, and Helen Fitzpatrick Dinsmore of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada; and a special friend, Sue Gilmore of Monkton, Md. © 2001 Lewiston Sun Journal *********************************************************************** 2/7/2002 Investigators: Cigarette likely to blame for Turner fire By Lisa Chmelecki Staff Writer A local man was killed Wednesday morning when an early-morning fire gutted the house that he moved into seven years ago to care for his ailing mother. It took firefighters more than three hours to control the flames. They found the body of James Dickinson at about 5 a.m. beside the futon in his living room. Neighbors say that is where the 56-year-old man liked to fall asleep. Investigators for the State Fire Marshal's Office assume the fire was started by a cigarette - Dickinson was known to be a heavy smoker - but they said it is impossible to confirm the cause because of the heavy destruction to the house. Dickinson lived alone at 140 Main St. On Wednesday morning, more than eight hours after the fire broke out, the scorched frame of the home was still smoking. A charred refrigerator, a television set and a collection of books were scattered over the pile of wood and soot. Several walls had collapsed. The snow-covered lawn in front of the Turner Village Church, directly across the street, was sprinkled with ashes. This was Turner's first fatal fire in more than 10 years, said Fire Chief Steven Fish. The call came in at about 1:45 a.m. A woman was driving down Main Street, commonly known as old Route 4, and she noticed the flames. The woman pulled into a nearby driveway and started frantically beeping her horn. A young girl who lived across the street from Dickinson woke up, looked out her bedroom window and spotted the fire. She ran downstairs and told her father, who called 911. In the meantime, several neighbors had gathered outside. One man attempted to rescue Dickinson, but he couldn't get through the heavy smoke. Fish was the first firefighter on the scene. "I was notified en route that there was possibly an occupant inside," the chief said. "By the time I arrived, the house was fully involved." Within minutes, 20 members of Turner's volunteer fire department arrived to help. They were joined by others from Buckfield and Leeds. The firefighters battled the blaze in zero-degree weather for several hours before digging their way through the ash and soot to Dickinson's living room. Fire investigators said Dickinson suffered from physical disabilities that may have made it hard for him to escape. His body was sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office for a confirmation of his identity. Sgt. Jennifer Mills of the Fire Marshal's Office said the examiner would have to rely on dental records because the body was burned beyond recognition. Neighbors respond Elaine Terrere lived down the street from Dickinson. A rescue worker for Turner, she heard about the fire when she woke up Wednesday morning. After seeing the charred remains of the house, she went to the store and bought flowers. She returned at 10 a.m. and placed a colorful bouquet on top of the broken wood and ash. "It is the least that I can do for him,"e; Terrere said. She described Dickinson as a computer buff, someone who liked to keep to himself. According to fire officials, he didn't have any family in the area. A woman who helped care for Dickinson arrived at the house Wednesday morning to take him to the dentist. Fish greeted her with the bad news. Later in the morning, a young girl who lives on Main Street stopped by the fire station to drop off a homemade card. The front of the card said, "Sorry but thank you." On the inside, next to a drawing of three stick figures aiming a hose at a burning home, the girl wrote, "Dear firefighters, I don't know you but thank you very much for taking care of that house. I would be scared. But you were not. That is what makes you so great!" Fish made copies of the card and gave one to every member of his department. © 2001 Lewiston Sun Journal
A picture of Jim