SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Vermont state fire investigators say a fire that destroyed a timber company building in North Springfield was accidental.

They said the fire at Vermont Timberworks on Saturday evening was caused by waste materials from the company’s production process that spontaneously ignited in a dumpster in the warm temperatures and humidity.

The fire department fought the fire through the night with help from other fire departments in Vermont and New Hampshire.

Officials said the building and its contents are a total loss.

State fire investigators said Sunday that if the dumpsters had been farther from the building the fire likely would have been discovered, reported and put out by the Springfield Fire Department before it reached the building.

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