Multiple fire departments doused an overnight fire at a central Maine mill before the flames spread, according to a local fire chief.
Flames broke out at the Maine Woods Pellet Co. in Athens just after 2:30 a.m., which drew a response from six area fire departments to the factory’s 55 acre campus, according to Athens Fire Chief Brett Strout.
The fire started when a piece of equipment that extracts dust from the wood pellets let off a spark, setting bags of dust ablaze, Strout said. But the flames didn’t spread beyond to the “baghouse,” a room that sits on the roof of the larger mill building and is operated from a remote control room.
The fire required the factory to shut down operations for a few hours, but it caused minimal damage and the scene was clear by 4:40 a.m., the chief said.
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