A fire destroyed a barn Tuesday afternoon on Capen Road in South Gardiner, causing only minor damage to the siding on the property owners’ home.

No one was injured in the fire, which was reported around 1:30 p.m. Chickens that were in the barn all appear to be accounted for, Gardiner Fire Chief Al Nelson said.

The barn had collapsed when firefighters arrived on the scene, Nelson said. The fire melted vinyl siding of the home on the property, but that was the extent of the damage to the house, he said.

The fire has been ruled accidental, Nelson said.

Nelson said the homeowner, Jose Olivencia, told fire officials he was working on a snowblower in the barn before the fire started. After going into his house for about 10 minutes, Olivencia returned and saw flames coming out of the barn, Nelson said.

He said Olivencia had fire insurance on the building.

Advertisement

Fire crews from Augusta and Togus assisted on the scene, Nelson said. After knocking the fire down, crews worked on extinguishing hot spots under the rubble.

“Luckily no one got hurt, and it all went OK,” Nelson said.

Hope Olivencia, the other homeowner, said there were possessions belonging to her mother, who had just moved to South Gardiner, in the barn.

Paul Koenig — 621-5663

pkoenig@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @paul_koenig


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.