AUGUSTA — Firefighters knocked down a fire Tuesday morning at 68 Albee Road, saving a home in northeastern Augusta.
An initial report of explosions and a building on fire was made to the Augusta Fire Department around 11 a.m. Augusta Fire Chief Roger Audette said subsequent calls identified a fire in a shed near a home on Albee Road, in rural part of the city.
Audette said the shed was destroyed. The homeowner had reported having oxyacetylene tanks in the shed, and that’s what caused the explosion.
The home sustained significant damage, but the structure was saved.
“Vinyl siding is a nice material,” he said, “but when it’s subjected to heat, as you can see, it burns very fast.”
Because of the location of the home, 7 miles from the center of Augusta on the east side of Togus Pond, Audette said, mutual aid for water was requested from both Vassalboro and Chelsea.
“We were very lucky to save the house,” he said.
The fire’s cause is undetermined because of the amount of damage, and it’s under investigation, Battalion Chief Scott Dunbar said.
Dunbar said chickens, earlier reported to be killed, actually were in a different structure and were unharmed.
Augusta property records identify 68 Albee Road as the home of Patrick and Joan Alexander.
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