[Update: 8:07 AM] – The residence in question was owned by a Brett Roberts, according to Chesterville Fire Chief John Archer, with Barry Webber and his family renting the property at the time of the fire.
It appears the blaze above a chicken coop, where heat lamps had been set up. Archer said that sparks had been earlier in the week, coming from the fixture and that the bulb had been removed. The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
No one was hurt in the blaze, although the chickens in the coop did die in the fire.
Damage to the barn was limited to one corner, Archer said, with no damage to the attached house. He called the firefighting effort a “good stop,” with an excellent response from mutual aid towns. Water had to be transported to the scene from the Farmington Motel by a series of tanker trucks.
CHESTERVILLE – A barn attached to a farmhouse on the Vienna Road was damaged by a fire Friday afternoon, with a number of local departments responding to fight the blaze.
Departments were called to the red-and-silver residence at 28 Vienna Road at approximately 12:49 p.m. Friday, with reports of thick white and black smoke rising from the site. That address is just over the Chesterville/Farmington town line.
Responding units included departments from Chesterville, Wilton, New Sharon, Farmington, Jay, Temple, East Dixfield and Industry, Farmington police and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, as well as NorthStar EMS. Many towns sent tanker trucks, as the fire was fought with water pumped at the hydrant on Route 2 & 27, opposite the Farmington Motel.
Farmington’s Tower 3 ladder truck was used to douse the upper levels of the barn. Firefighters then pried off the sheet metal siding to attack the fire in the wall. Crews were still at the scene as of 2:30 p.m., with Vienna Road blocked at that point.
More details about this fire will be posted when they become available.
I was very impressed on how fast the fire departments were on the scene and their coordination.
This could have spread to other properties ( mine being one ) Thank you crew, very much.
This is a very good example of the training. All the local fire departments train to work together.
The ONLY reason the house is still standing is because of our amazing firefighters and their response time! Thank you all for your hard work, dedication and determination.
i live bout 300ft from this barn, wht ah job the firefighters did. if the fire got out of control it could have been’ah lot worest…..thanks guys for ah job well done….
Yes the firefighters did an excellent job! Thank you from another neighbor. That’s a very old house, I was surprised to see how little damage there was considering the age of the lumber inside.