EAST DIXFIELD – A fire at a cabin-style structure at the Countryfolk Music Theatre was quickly knocked down and extinguished by a passing firefighter Wednesday afternoon.
At nearly 4 p.m. Wednesday, mutual aid fire departments were called to the report of flames showing at the structure located on Route 2. The theatre, owned by Larry Bisbee, offers free country music concerts on Sundays during the summer. Bisbee was reportedly out of state at the time of the fire.
Wilton Fire Chief Sonny Dunham said this evening an East Dixfield firefighter stopped and was able to extinguish the blaze quickly. Responding fire departments were called back to station.
After inspecting the area where the fire started, Dunham requested an investigator with the state’s Fire Marshal’s Office to look into the incident, calling the fire “suspicious.”
On April 18, 2012, a fire destroyed several of the theatre’s structures. It was determined at the time that sparks from Bisbee’s cabin woodstove started the fire. “The destructive fire of last year kept us from having a full season,” Bisbee had said last year, adding volunteers had cleaned up the site and structures were rebuilt so the concerts could continue. The theatre has been operating each of the last 15 summers.
