AUGUSTA — A fire that started in a barn shortly before 9:30 a.m. Monday at 238 Church Hill Road spread into the nearby home, destroying both buildings and sending a huge plume of smoke into the air on Augusta’s east side that was visible for miles.

Firefighters from Augusta and nearly a dozen other communities worked into the afternoon to extinguish the blaze and knock down what was left of the home.

Firefighters struggled to contain the blaze due to limited water access at the rural site and the presence of old hay, which caused the fire to spread rapidly. The barn was nearly leveled, leaving only a blackened, water-soaked mass of debris.

“When we arrived, the barn was clearly well involved (in fire), and extending into the house,” Augusta Fire Chief David Groder said at the scene, as the home continued to burn behind him.

“We showed up with our two engines and 2,000 gallons of water and did what we could to try to keep it out of the house,” Groder said. “Obviously, with no water in the area and no hydrants in the area, we were up against it from the start.”

The initial investigation by the Office of State Fire Marshal indicates the fire began while someone was working on a generator next to the residence. While attempting to start the generator, a spark ignited the fuel, and the fire spread to the nearby home and barn, Maine Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said in a press release Monday night.

Two firefighters were injured. An Augusta firefighter was transported to a hospital for a medical event and remains under evaluation. A Sidney firefighter sustained a minor injury, was treated at the hospital, and has since been released, Moss said. The homeowner was not injured. 

The city’s assessing database lists the owner as Loren Wells, of Hendersonville Rental Properties, in Flat Rock, North Carolina. The home was built in 1936 and the property was valued by the city at $197,000 for tax purposes.

The two-story barn was just under 3,300 square feet.

Crews brought a city excavator to the site to tear down the barn’s remnants, with plans to demolish the home shortly after.

Groder said the home’s upper level became unstable, creating a risk that two chimneys could collapse. Out of concern for firefighter safety, crews were kept outside and did not enter the building to combat the flames. Three Augusta firefighters shot water down into the home from the ladders of the department’s ladder truck.

Groder did not think there were any animals in the barn at the time of the fire.

A Maine Forest Service helicopter assisted by dropping loads of water onto the fire.

Groder said the Forest Service was contacted to help after the flames spread onto fields at the rear of the property. Groder said the water drops from the helicopter helped quickly suppress the flames.

Jim Britt, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, confirmed one of the Forest Service’s helicopters responded from its location on Bolton Hill to assist from the air to stop the fire from spreading into the woods and help cool the area so firefighters could get closer to the buildings.

Britt said the helicopter did not drop water onto the house itself, just on the surrounding area. Britt said it’s not uncommon for the forest service to assist local fire departments.

The helicopter used water from the Kennebec River.

Groder said firefighters setup two water supply sites on opposite sides of the property, from which water was shuttled to the scene.

City officials advised drivers to expect delays and seek alternate routes around the fire location, which was north of North Belfast Avenue, also known as Route 3, and just south of Church Hill Baptist Church.

Firefighters responded from departments in Chelsea, Hallowell, Gardiner Rescue, Winthrop, Manchester, Sidney, Belgrade, Winslow, Togus and Vassalboro.

A smoke plume from the site could be seen from as far away as Gardiner.