Fire consumes Paris garage

Photo: Kayla Collins

Photo: Kayla Collins

PARIS — Firefighters from eight towns responded to a fire that engulfed a garage at 281 Brett Hill Road Wednesday, and were able to put it out in approximately an hour, said Norway Fire Chief Dennis Yates. 

Firefighters were called to the scene around 12:15 p.m. According to firefighters, the flames had spread to most of the garage by the time they arrived on scene. 

Mike Gallan, who owns the garage, said he was not at home when the fire started. 

"I was working at the saw mill just down the road, and when I came down [home] for lunch, it was already going right to town," he said of the fire. 

According to Gallan, there were no animals inside the garage during the time of the fire, but his two donkeys were in an adjacent field and were not harmed. 

Gallan said he thought the wood boiler inside of the garage may have sparked the fire, but was not sure.

According to Paris Fire Chief Brad Frost, a dump truck, firewood, hay and a few chickens inside the garage were lost in the fire, among other things. "There's a whole mixture in there," he said on the scene. 

Reports say the nearby two-story home was not damaged, but was blackened by the intense heat.

Firefighters soaked the home with water to ensure that it, too, would not catch, Frost said. 

Firefighters from Paris, Norway, Oxford, Harrison, Waterford, Hebron, Buckfield and West Paris responded, said Yates. PACE also responded. 

According to reports, nobody was injured. 

Yates said the State Fire Marshal would visit the scene Wednesday to investigate what caused the blaze. 

Photo: Kayla Collins

Photo: Kayla Collins

Photo: Kayla Collins