Seventeen calves and five cows were killed in a barn fire Monday on Ripley Road in Dexter, Fire Chief Matt Connor said.
The fire was reported just before 9 a.m., and crews were still at the scene at 5 p.m., Connor said.
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The name of the owner of the barn was not immediately available.
No people were hurt in the fire, and about 75 more cows escaped, Connor said.
“We have a bunch of firetrucks within a 20-mile radius that are all froze up,” he said. “It’s been a tough day.”
The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Office of Maine State Fire Marshal.
Firefighters from 12 departments were on the scene, including Corinna, Garland, East Poland, Hartland, St. Albans, Cambridge, Harmony, Dover-Foxcroft, Sangerville, Guilford and Newport, as several inches of snow fell in the area, temperatures hovered below zero and a strong wind blew.
“We had a lot of trouble with firetrucks freezing up and our manpower getting cold. We had to rotate through a lot of people,” said First Assistant Chief Rick Stocker.
He said there was no one in the barn when the fire started and that a nearby house was not damaged. The farm is known in the area as the Sherburne Farm, he said, and was recently purchased by a new owner.
Connor said he wasn’t sure whether the owner of the barn had insurance.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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