MEDWAY, Maine — A two-alarm fire that began near a lit pellet stove damaged close to half of a business and office building on Route 11 before firefighters from several towns doused it Wednesday. No injuries were reported, Fire Chief Jon Buckingham said.
East Millinocket, Lincoln, Mattawamkeag, Medway, Millinocket and Sherman firefighters contained the fire at 1928 Medway Road, the former Ben Fiske Building, after it was reported at shortly after 4 p.m., a Penobscot Regional Communications Center dispatcher said.
“There was heavy fire inside the building,” Buckingham said Wednesday, “although you really can’t tell from the outside of it.”
Passersby saw smoke pouring from the eaves and the peaked roof of the 1½-story structure. Fire burned through the building’s siding at the base of the center of the back wall, climbed that wall and burned into the ceiling spaces of the rear half of the building. The front of the building was untouched, Buckingham said.
Firefighters’ interior attack of the flames and their use of Lincoln’s ladder truck to douse the roof kept the fire contained, Buckingham said.
“It’s lucky that there were fire stops in the building, because it could have gone the whole length of the building,” Buckingham said.
Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to find hot spots, Buckingham said. Maine Forest Service firefighters also assisted. The state Fire Marshal’s Office has been notified.
The building, which Buckingham estimated to be 40-feet-by-20 feet, houses Custom to Classic Cycles motorcycle shop in front, the nonprofit Wings for Children and Families social service agency, and some workshops and storage areas.
Dry, chilly weather combined with gusting winds to set the wildfire danger rating at four in Penobscot County for at least the second straight day Wednesday. According to the National Fire Danger Rating System, that means that fires “can start easily from all causes and immediately after ignition, spread rapidly and increase quickly in intensity. Spot fires are a constant danger.”
The highest ratings in the state were a six in western Aroostook and a seven, the highest possible rating, in eastern Aroostook County. Permitted burns have been banned in most towns.