The Barn Burns
On Monday (Nov 20) at approximately 1:00 in the afternoon a call came in over the beeper for a possible structure fire
on the North end of the Island. The description that Portland dispatch had
was just smoke sighted on the north end of the Island reported by a lobsterman
We spotted the smoke rising above the trees as soon as we reached Hanson's house and realized Roger's Barn
was the probable site. The smoke was heavy enough outside the building to make breathing
uncomfortable, and the whole interior was choked with smoke. Gary was one of the first
on scene, with the truck from the Hall, and was running a line to the lower garage
doors. The fire had started in the NE corner of the lower level (mechanics shop)
and Gary and Dave initally put it out fairly quickly, with Gary's truck and Bud's larger truck
both pumping water. When the doors where opened to clear some of the smoke
the fire rekindled and shot out the doors and the 1250 gals of water quickly
ran out. After dumping the tank truck into the portable tank, Peggy, Jamey, Dick and I
set up at the wharf so we could fill trucks to shuttle water.
Dicky Clark and a crew from Long as well as men from the Chebeague
and Portland fire departments arrived within 30 minutes and were quickly
driven to the site. The Coast Guard dropped off a crew and then put water
on some hot spots from off shore before returning to the wharf
to use their pump to help fill trucks. The building collapsed by mid afternoon
but continued to burn intensely. The Chebeaguers left on the night boat
and the Long Islanders a few hours later.
Portland kept a crew here all night bringing a new shift in every 4 hours
We kept water going on the fire the until 5 in the morning when the
Portland firefighters determined that it was enough under control that
the water onsite in the 3 trucks and the portable tank would be enough to fight
any small flare-ups. Nearly everone on the Island helped in one way or another
all the way down to the the kids helping to deliver the food and coffee Ruth
and others were preparing in the Hall. We were very lucky that the wind was calm and the temperature
was moderate. Smoke was spotted occasionally on Tuesday and the wind started to pick up
so Dave set up 2 hour watches overnight.
Tuesday the fire inspectors arrived to try to determine a cause and Wednesday
they announced that it started in the electrical service.
The Fire
The next day