Four buildings destroyed in junkyard fire at Wales

WALES — A junkyard fire Thursday night destroyed four buildings and drove an elderly man from his home, officials said.

Eleven area fire departments responded to the fire, which spread rapidly as oil, diesel fuel and propane tanks exploded throughout the night.

There were no reports of injuries.

Fire Chief Alfred Siderio Jr. called the fire suspicious. He quoted neighbors as saying they saw two children running from the scene shortly after the fire broke out around 5:30 p.m. The state Fire Marshal’s Office was called in to investigate.

Later Thursday night, neighbors and the junkyard owner, Wilfred Veilleux, 85, watched anxiously from nearby homes as the fire spread over 2 acres and firefighters struggled to get water up Oak Hill to the fire scene.

The fire was contained on the junkyard grounds as pumpers worked relays from a stream on Route 197 and about 100 firefighters fought the flames, Siderio said.

Veilleux said he heard an explosion in a garage by the road and saw flames shooting up the sides of the building.

The fire moved quickly in a chain reaction, spreading to an old three-story house, shed and two warehouses, according to Siderio, who said all the structures were in flames by the time the first firefighters arrived. The trailer that Veilleux apparently lived in was saved, the fire chief reported.

“Like any junkyard, it was a potential hazard,” Siderio said.

Firefighters were on the scene from Wales, Sabattus, Greene, Monmouth, Leeds, Litchfield, Dresden, Manchester, Minot, Auburn and Lisbon Falls.

Central Maine Power Co. cut power to the area approximately an hour after the fire began, Siderio said.

WCBB-TV, Channel 10, which uses a transmitter located near the fire scene, went off the air between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. because of the power loss.