Editor’s note: The Maine fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of this fire.
A barn was destroyed and an attached house is likely to be a total loss after a fire early Wednesday morning in Atkinson township, east of Dover-Foxcroft.
The fire was reported at 1:47 a.m. as a garage fire on North Stagecoach Road, Dover-Foxcroft Fire Chief Brian Gaudet said. En route they learned that it was a large barn.
“Very large,” Gaudet said. “Forty-by-60 or 40-by-80 with an ell.”
When firefighters arrived, the barn was fully ablaze and the fire was spreading to the house, Gaudet said. Ultimately 12 fire departments and an ambulance service responded.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The owners, a couple, were home at the time and were notified of the fire by passersby, Gaudet said. They escaped safely. One firefighter was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Firefighters were able to move some jewelry and pictures out of a bedroom for the family, Gaudet said.
“It’s a horrible way to start the new year, but the main thing is they got out safe,” he said.
