Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – A barn being demolished to make way for a garage came down quicker than expected when it caught fire and was destroyed June 6.
The Presque Isle Fire Department responded to a call from the owners, Richard and Vicky Brown, shortly after 2 p.m. About a dozen firefighters responded to the call. The fire reportedly began when a spark from a pile of debris being burned in a field behind the barn landed on a section of the barn that had yet to be demolished. “I had been taking the barn apart, salvaging timbers for use when I build a garage. I had piled the scraps in the field and had obtained a permit to burn the material. When I started the fire, there wasn’t any wind to speak of. But then the weather changed and the next thing I knew, sparks had spread to the barn,” said Brown.
Brown tried using a garden hose to extinguish the fire but the wind and dry wood of the barn fed the blaze. Realizing the fire could spread to his home, Brown and his wife decided it would be best to let the professionals handle it and called for help.
“The barn was so close to the house, I knew it could spread to the house and then I’d be in real trouble,” said Brown, as he watched a crew from the PIFD spray foam on his house. “That’s amazing stuff they’re using.”
In minutes, firefighters brought the fire under control. In about an hour, all that remained were a few charred timbers where the barn once stood. Brown was grateful to the firefighters for saving his home.
“They got here quickly and prevented the fire from spreading to my home. They did their job and I’m grateful,” said Brown.
No injuries were reported as the result of the fire. The fire caused only minimal damage.
“I saved some timbers earlier for use in the garage. I didn’t have anything of any value stored in what remained,” Brown said. “This just speeded up the demolition process.”
