WATERVILLE — Firefighters Thursday night put out a blaze in the woods behind Thayer Center for Health after a man reported the fire by calling 911.
Mike Benfield, 53, who said he is homeless, reported the fire by calling 911, he said.
“I was walking back behind Champions (Fitness Center) and that’s when I saw the fire,” Benfield said at the scene.
He said flames shot high into the air and he was afraid it would spread quickly.
Waterville Fire Captain Eion Pelletier said there appeared to be some type of campsite in the woods, possibly used by homeless people. The fire burned a 10-by-10-foot area and firefighters extinguished it, according to Pelletier.
“We have no idea what burned, in particular, or what started it just yet,” he said.
The fire was between about 460 and 500 feet into the woods, he said.
Champions is about a quarter of a mile from Thayer.
Firefighters, Waterville police and Delta Ambulance entered the parking area behind Thayer via an entrance off Eustis Parkway, a street that connects North Street with Main Street.
Firefighters with hoses and axes trekked into the woods to put out the fire.
MaineGeneral Health security officers were also on scene.
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