Fire claims local woodworking plant

Photo: A.M. Sheehan

STILL SMOLDERING — The building still smolders as firefighters take a breather after battling a major fire on Marston Street in Norway Tuesday morning. The call came in just after 4 a.m.  at the unfinished furniture and wood manufacturing business on the corner of Marston and Beal streets. Firefighters from 10 towns responded.
BREAKING NEWS: Major fire in Norway

Photo: Chuck Blaquiere

FULLY INVOLVED — Flames shoot through the roof within minutes after firemen arrive at the scene of the fire on Marsten Street in Norway around 4 a.m. Tuesday, February 8.

Photo: Ben Tucker

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Photo: A.M. Sheehan

NO INSURANCE — Oxford Pine Products, Inc., owner Timothy Paul watches the remains of his building smolder Tuesday morning. Paul said he had to cancel his insurance in December because of the poor economy.

NORWAY — Fire took its toll on Oxford Pine Products, Inc. Tuesday morning, gutting the Marston Street  structure and business.

The call went out around 4 a.m. and the fire departments of Norway, Paris and Oxford were the first to arrive on the scene 10 minutes later. The fire had spread quickly through the woodworking plant and by the time help arrived, it had already spread from the first floor to the third.

"I live next door to the building, and when I arrived on the scene, you already had fire on the third floor," said Chief Dennis Yates who was one of the first people to even notice the fire and was on scene just moments after it started. "It moved very fast because you got lacquer, you got paints, you got sawdust."

Upon arriving, crews found their way into the building blocked as the fire continued to spread.

"Once it got up into that third floor it just traveled the whole length of the building and we weren't able to gain access because where the stairs go up to the third floor was right where the fire was," says Yates.

Seven more departments responded to the call, joining the initial three.  Harrison, Hebron, Woodstock, Waterford, and West Paris provided additional manpower while Mechanic Falls added a ladder to help fight the third story blaze. Poland's Rapid Intervention Team arrived with a heavy rescue truck that provided scene lighting in the early morning and was available in case a firefighter got trapped in the building.

The fire was completely extinguished by about 9:30 a.m.  The Fire Marshall is currently investigating the cause of the fire but according to Chief Yates, all signs point to an electrical problem.

Timothy Paul, owner of the building and business, stood watching fire personnel check for hotspots around 8:30 a.m. with friend Nora Belliveau who lives on Marston Street. Paul, who lives on Pleasant Street in Norway, was unaware of the fire at first.

"Nora tried to reach me twice," he said, "but I was asleep. Then my father got through."

Paul's parents — Maurice and Betty Paul, of Norway, — founded the business in 1977. The wooden structure, according to Paul, is about 90 years old.

"It's a total loss," said Paul, "but no one was hurt."

Not only the building was a loss. Paul had no insurance.

"I dropped it in December ... the economy ...,"  he said, shaking his head.

SAD 17 closed the Guy E. Rowe School, which is accessed from Marston Street, because of the fire.