Waldoboro Fire Chief Paul Smeltzer said an accidental Jan. 5 fire at Prock Farm on Winslow Mills Rd. in Waldoboro, appears to have started when wood stored near an outdoor furnace ignited.
“They have an outdoor furnace that had a roof over it,” Smeltzer said Jan. 7. Smeltzer said the damage was so severe that he was unable to determine exactly how the fire started, but that he suspects there was debris on the ground in front of the furnace door.
“That woodpile caught on fire, then caught the roof on fire,” Smeltzer said. He said the roof was a shed, with no walls, designed to protect the furnace and its fuel from the elements.
“The furnace is probably a total loss,” he said. “The total exterior of it was damaged.”
Smeltzer said this was the third call of a similar nature, involving an outdoor furnace, which the Waldoboro Fire Dept. has responded to in recent years.
“When utilizing one of these, be extremely careful when cleaning them out and when loading them,” he said. “Keep the area in front of them clear.”
He said sparks or hot ash can fall to the ground and ignite debris in the area.
Waldoboro Police were at the scene to manage traffic and the Jefferson Fire Dept. sent a tanker to the call, Smeltzer said.
