JEFFERSON, Maine — Firefighters from Lincoln, Kennebec, and Knox counties spent hours Wednesday battling a structure fire at 334 Rockland Road (Route 17) in Jefferson.
According to Jefferson Fire Chief Walter Morris, the building, a two-story structure with a garage on the ground floor and an apartment on the second level, is a total loss.
Two injuries were reported, Morris said. One individual was taken to the hospital with chest pain, and another was evaluated at the scene for minor burns to the individual’s hands.
Morris said all of the building’s occupants have been accounted for.
Morris said Jefferson first responders and Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services treated the individual who was experiencing chest pains, while Windsor Rescue checked out the occupant with minor burns at the scene.
The fire chief said that as he drove to the fire from Route 17, he could see the glow from the blaze, and before emergency responders arrived on scene, the building’s roof had collapsed.
Morris said that since the engulfed building was surrounded by a number of outbuildings, three shed-like structures of various sizes, and in the proximity of another house on the property, his immediate concern was preventing the fire from spreading.
He said the fire spread to two of the outlying buildings, substantially damaging one and causing some damage to the other.
Morris said crews prevented the fire from spreading to a third outlying structure and were working to completely snuff out what remained of the blaze.
“We are going to keep tearing the debris apart and extinguish the remaining parts of the fire,” Morris said Wednesday evening.
Joining Jefferson Fire and Rescue on the scene were crews from Nobleboro, Somerville, Waldoboro, Washington, Whitefield, and Windsor.
Route 17 was closed while crews worked to extinguish the blaze with units from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office directing traffic.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, Morris said. The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office has been contacted.
The Lincoln County Communications Center dispatched Jefferson Fire and Rescue around 4:45 p.m.
The names and conditions of those in the building at the time of the fire were not immediately available.