ETNA, Maine — Fire crews from five towns battled a fire Friday morning that destroyed a building at Camp Etna on Dover Street.
Capt. Aaron Brown of the Etna Fire Department said he received the call at 5:30 a.m.
“We got on the scene within minutes and there was heavy fire coming out the backside of the building to the point where the upstairs had already fallen through,” said Brown.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office said it was notified but will not be investigating the fire.
No one was inside the 15-by-20-foot building, said Brown. There were no injuries.
Brown said seven buildings were near the fire. He added that firefighters were lucky the wind was blowing in the direction that it was because otherwise additional buildings may have caught fire. No other buildings were damaged.
The building was destroyed, he said.
“It’s a lost cause,” said Brown. “It’s still standing — just heavy, heavy fire damage.”
The Etna, Carmel, Newport, Dixmont and Plymouth fire departments assisted at the scene while crews from Stetson and Levant were on standby.
“Good response from all the crews. Mutual aid did a good job,” said Brown.
The fire was knocked down within a half hour, he said, although there were a lot of clothes and household items that continued to smolder.
Camp Etna is a spiritual camp located on 27 acres near Etna Pond. It was founded more than 135 years ago, according to its website.
I wonder if they saw it coming!
Was that guardian angel asleep on the job?
Once again, another example of our worthless fire departments who have yet to ever put out a fire. Read the book titled “When Maine Burned.” It is an account of the October, 1947 fires in Maine in which I fought. Across the street from my home, 50 camps and several other large buildings burned flat and had it not been for a shift in the wind, my parents house would have also burned flat. Fire departments are a waste of our tax dollars. Doubt me? Then read about how much they saved in the San Francisco earthquake fire or the fire that started in Chicago when the cow tipped over the pail.
volunteer fire dept. if you think you can do better, step up ….
Dumbazz
Hey Bill, if you can do better apply for the job. The MAJORITY of the Fire Departments in the U.S. are volunteer so there are plenty of opportunities for you to show the rest of us how it should be done.