HODGDON, Maine — Sparks created from jump-starting a vehicle are being blamed for a fire that destroyed a family-operated garage and salvage business in Hodgdon on Friday morning.
Crews from three departments responded just after 9:30 a.m. to the fire at Benn Auto Sales, Inc., on Calais Road and found the three-story barn housing the business fully involved, according to Rick Tidd, assistant chief of the Hodgdon Volunteer Fire Department.
“They tried to hit it with a [fire] extinguisher, but that pushed it right up the wooden walls and into the attic,” Tidd said Friday afternoon. “This was an old barn that had been there a lot of years.”
The building’s contents included numerous combustibles, including barrels of waste oil and old tires, Tidd said.
John Benn owns the business, Tidd said, adding there are three employees but he was unsure how many were in the building when the fire broke out.
Benn declined to comment Friday evening.
No injuries were reported, the assistant chief said.
The Hodgdon Fire Department received aid from Houlton and Linneus to battle the blaze, which took 40 firefighters with five tankers nearly five hours to contain, Tidd said.
For a time, crews used hoses to create a curtain of water to protect a nearby home when the siding of that building caught fire from the extreme heat of the blaze.
“We were able to save that structure,” Tidd said. “I’ll be going back for a while to check on hot spots.”
The barn and all its contents were destroyed, and Tidd said he was unsure if Benn had insurance for the building.
Yeah if he DOES have insurance…his talk w/ the adjuster may be slightly uncomfortable. Yikes.
Why would the conversation with an adjuster be uncomfortable? It is a business that works on vehicles and jump starting a vehicle would fall well within the scope of what normally happens in such a business.
Conversation with an adjuster could be “uncomfortable” …
Jump starting a vehicle does not “normally” pose a threat – unless, for instance, there are combustables in exposed conditions (like leaking fuel in the vehicle being jumped – or starting fluids/sprays in use, or a jug of fuel nearby, etc. (basic, SIMPLE things). Things commonly done, many, many times over the years (and decades) and gotten away with … until: POOF !
(and depending on the insurance coverage stipulations, of course)
John’s a good fellow – best wishes – speedy recovery to the business. The people in the house next door must be (barely) relieved.
I wanted to say the same things. Thanks for doing it for me.
As a mechanic for over 30 years, I’ve only seen one battery jump mess-up. An old off-gasing battery that didn’t get along with sparks. A month with an eyepatch woke me up to the dangers. Insurance, if any, will be a trip..
“Back in the day”, Benn’s was the only place to go. Acres of it.
Thanks volunteers for responding.