BINGHAM, Maine — A Meadow Street barn fire Sunday afternoon quickly spread to an attached farmhouse, but flames were stopped by the first group of firefighters to arrive before they reached a nearby church, Bingham Fire Chief Scott Laweryson said Monday.
“The initial guys did a great job,” Laweryson said.
The First Congregational Church is located “about 8 feet” from where the barn was burning, and the wind was whipping up the flames, the chief said.
“It did melt the vinyl siding, but it’s intact,” Laweryson said of the church.
The fire broke out at around 4:30 p.m. and the homeowners, who purchased the house several months ago, were not at home when the blaze broke out.
“Something inside the barn was the source of the ignition,” Laweryson said. ”It started in the barn and spread to the house. The house and the barn are still standing, but there is a lot of fire damage and a lot of smoke damage.”
The dozen local firefighters were assisted by seven or eight others from Solon Fire Department.
“There were no injuries to humans but they did lose two dogs,” the fire chief said.
Investigators from the state fire marshal’s office responded to the blaze on Sunday and returned Monday to survey the damage and look for a cause.
Sgt. Ken Grimes of the state fire marshal’s office said Monday afternoon that the investigation continues and will involve some heavy equipment needed to remove damaged walls to see what is underneath.
“Until we can see it we can’t determine what caused it,” Grimes said.
The building stands, but is uninhabitable at this point, the fire chief said.
“It was a three-story older home,” Laweryson said. “It was a really nice house.”