NEW VINEYARD — A camp in New Vineyard was completely burned down in a blaze Sunday afternoon after fire trucks could not access the property quickly enough due to the road being plowed too narrowly.
“It was plowed just wide enough to get a Subaru up in there — a car,” said New Vineyard Fire Chief Tom Holbrook.
The fire, which occurred at 142 Griffin Mountain Road, was reported at 12:16 p.m.
“When we got there, the flames were showing but we couldn’t get the apparatus in there because it’s quite a ways off the road,” Holbrook said.
The building, owned by Augusta resident Robert Tribou, had one and a half stories and was roughly 24 by 36 feet, according to Holbrook. No one was inside the structure at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. Holbrook said he believes the blaze “started around a wood stove.”
The chief was unable to provide an estimate on the cost of the damage to the structure but noted that the camp was insured.
Fire and rescue teams from New Vineyard, Strong, Kingfield, New Portland, North Anson and Farmington responded to the Sunday call. Holbrook said the firefighters set up a staging area at the Fletchers’ Mill parking lot on New Vineyard Road.
“It delayed us quite a lot because we had to start (from the mill),” Holbrook commented. “We would have been able to get there a lot quicker if the road was plowed out.”
While wood stove fires are not uncommon this time of year, Holbrook reminded residents to be cautious.
“Make sure the chimney’s clean,” he warned wood stove users. “If you have a camp, have the roads plowed wide enough to get the fire rescue (vehicles) in.”
The scene was cleared within three hours, by 3:15 p.m., according to Holbrook.
Meg Robbins — 861-9239
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