A blaze that engulfed a barn on Gaecklein Road in Boothbay Jan. 8 could have been caused by stove ashes, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
“It’s officially listed as undetermined due to the extensive damage, however, through interviews we were able to identify that the owner had placed some stove ashes in a plastic bucket in the barn, so that is certainly a possible cause,” said Sergeant Ken Grimes of the Fire Marshal’s Office on Jan. 15.
Fire departments from Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport Island and Edgecomb responded to the fire, and trucks had to ferry water from a nearby stream to the site of the fire.
The barn reignited after fire crews had left, and an excavator owned by the town of Boothbay had to be used to tear the building apart in efforts to put it out, according to Boothbay Fire Chief Richard Spofford.
