OAKLAND — The cause of a fire that destroyed a boat storage building and its contents and damaged another building at Camp Manitou, a summer camp for boys on East Pond, was ruled undetermined after an investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The fire, reported around 4:30 p.m. Monday at the camp on Route 137, destroyed a 1,000-square-foot storage building that employees of the camp refer to as the boathouse and contained kayaks, canoes and other equipment, according to Oakland Fire Chief David Coughlin.
An investigation by the fire marshal’s office was completed Tuesday, but because of the extent of damage officials were unable to determine a cause, said Sgt. Ken Grimes of the fire marshal’s office.
“We don’t believe it was anything other than an accident, but certainly, not being able to identify the exact sequence of events and the cause, we can’t know for sure,” Grimes said.
Strong wind off the pond Monday helped to spread the fire to a nearby building that is under construction and was also damaged, according to Coughlin.
“The focus when we arrived on scene was to protect the building under construction,” he said. “The wind just fueled that fire, so it was a little hectic at first.”
The boathouse and its contents were destroyed, but no injuries were reported in the fire, Coughlin said. He did not have an estimate of the cost of the damage but said the camp does have insurance. Kayaks, canoes and other equipment were lost in the fire, according to both Coughlin and Grimes.
Camp officials didn’t want to comment on the fire or what was lost Tuesday.
Camp Manitou is an overnight summer camp for boys ages seven to 16, according to its website. The first session starts June 24 and sessions run through Aug. 12.
A woman who answered the phone at the camp Tuesday said the building that was destroyed Monday was insured and that there were no injuries.
Firefighters from six departments — those in Belgrade, Fairfield, Oakland, Rome, Sidney and Smithfield — responded to the fire Monday.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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