Thirty-Five Firefighters Put Out Structure Fire, Fort Fairfield, Maine
Thirty-five firefighters put out a structure fire at 41 Cheney Grove Road in Fort Fairfield Friday morning.
The fire was contained to the back of the building and extended to the roof and into interior walls - except for some grass fires and some small spot fires. Vince Baldwin, Fire Chief, Fort Fairfield Fire Dept. said strong winds and maintaining a water supply slowed the process. The structure is owned by Gene Helstrom.
The fire was accidental said Chief Baldwin. A worker for the property owner was burning old wood pallet boxes used for potato storage. The fire accidentally ignited other pallet boxes when the wind carried the embers to other boxes up against the structure, said Baldwin.
One firefighter received a minor burn to his arm during the firefighting operations. He was treated by Crown Ambulance, seen at The Aroostook Medical Center and released.
The Limestone, Crown, Easton, Caribou, Presque Isle fire departments and the Maine State Forest Rangers assisted. There were approximately 35 Firefighters on scene to help control and extinguish the fire with Deputy Chief Browning as the Incident Commander.
The Maine Forest Service assisted in the investigation.