DEDHAM, Maine — A fire destroyed one camp and damaged five others Wednesday night before about 30 responders were able to put it out and clear the scene just after midnight.
No one was injured, but a 150-year-old log cabin was destroyed and a second camp significantly damaged, according to Fire Chief Craig Shane.
“It definitely added to Halloween because there was orange in the sky everywhere,” said Shane. He described 40-foot-tall flames that destroyed vegetation, broke windows and melted the siding off the buildings that were all within close proximity to the cabin that burned down.
All of the seasonal residents of the camps had left for the summer except one. The woman who was still at her camp called the fire department around 6 p.m. when she saw flames coming out of the side of the neighboring building, Shane said.
The original cause of the fire is still being investigated, but Shane believes it started inside the cabin. The fire caused a propane tank to explode. Shane said the roof of the cabin collapsed about ten minutes after the firefighters got there, and eventually the flames destroyed the entire building. A roof also fell into a camp next door, causing significant damage.