OWLS HEAD (3/11/2024 update) — A two-story barn set on top of a cellar was already stripped down to its timber frame, glowing from the flames within, when Owls Head Fire Chief Steven Hallett arrived on scene following a 10:38 p.m. summons that drove area firefighters to South Shore Drive, Sunday, March 10.

“The fire lit up the night sky to see from miles away,” said Hallett, 20 hours later.

The Fire Marshal’s Office continues its investigation of the property at 291 South Shore Drive, according to Hallett. And with the significant damage to the site, he expects that the cause will remain undetermined.

The barn housed a workshop and multiple boats. Next to the barn were two vehicles, which caught fire as well. However, with the responding firefighters from the town’s mutual aid agreement (Thomaston, South Thomaston, Rockland, St. George, and Warren), along those Rockport and Cushing firefighters called for additional manpower and equipment, efforts were successful in preventing damage to the nearby house.

At 11:01 p.m., firefighters reported to dispatch that the water supply was fully established, and responders had the first water on the fire shortly after, using a fire pond in the village of Owls Head. They maintained this water supply throughout the entire extent of the fire. Approximately 62,000 gallons of water was flowed and shuttled to the barn.

“As a new Fire Chief, I could not have been prouder of the strong teamwork that our Owls Head Firefighters and mutual aid partners displayed,” said Hallett, in his official statement. “All the towns mentioned above worked together seamlessly to get the job done. We had trucks and people on scene putting water on the fire, and water supply established within the first 15 minutes of the incident. That is very solid work and Owls Head Fire Department thanks its neighboring departments for the help.”

OWLS HEAD — At approximately 10:40 p.m., Sunday, March 10, emergency dispatchers received a report of a fully-involved barn fire in Owls Head. 

As the first to arrive at 291 South Shore Drive, the Owls Head fire chief immediately called for a second alarm, bringing firefighters to the scene from Rockport, Thomaston, South Thomaston, Cushing, Rockland, St. George, and Warren. Because Rockland is the contracted emergency medical service for Owls Head, Rockland staged an ambulance on South Shore Drive, along with two of its fire trucks. Camden FD covered the Rockland station. 

South Thomaston personnel were put in charge of water supply, coordinating efforts to bring in water from a nearby pond.

Fire damage did not spread across the driveway to the house, though Central Maine Power shut off electricity to the property at the request of the fire department. Vehicles behind the barn appear to have burned. 

As of 1 a.m., no reports of injuries have been mentioned. Just after 1 a.m., the Rockland ambulance and one of their fire trucks returned to their station, freeing Camden FD from its assignment. Warren was back in its own station well before Cushing arrived home at 2:45 a.m. Thomaston cleared the scene at 3 a.m., and, similar to all of the fire departments, will spend time cleaning gear before heading to bed. 

The last remaining units cleared the scene at approximately 5 a.m.

The Fire Marshall’s Office has been notified.

On March 10, nationwide, residents set their clocks ahead an hour. This day also brought a heavy wind and rain storm to the Midcoast, requiring many of this fire’s responding firefighters to spend the morning chasing after downed trees as well as closing and reopening roads due to flooding.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com