RICHMOND — Three Central Maine Power workers who smelled smoke and decided to investigate are being credited with helping to save a mother and son from a burning home in Richmond, officials say.

Adam Douin, Jeff Dyer Jr., and Carl Urquhart were wrapping up their shift when they smelled something burning and noticed a plume of smoke Wednesday.

They found a house afire with windows exploding from the heat.

They helped a man who was climbing out of a window 10 feet high and then raced with a ladder to the other side of the house to rescue the man's mother from a second-floor window, with flames lapping up from below.

The barefoot woman suffered burns on her feet and legs, fell from the ladder and was caught by the men below. The homeowner was reported to be in fair condition at Maine Medical Center.