300 bales of hay lost in grass fire Friday

A grass fire Friday afternoon burned an estimated 300 bales of hay, scorching and blackening three acres near Union Street before it was put out by Bangor and Hermon firefighters.

The hay, valued at about $300, was being raked from the field located about 700 feet from Union Street diagonally across from the Davis Road, when it caught on fire.

Dennis Hatchey, who owns the field said he was working outside his house around 3:40 p.m. when he saw an employee George Potvin come “flying down (the pathway) in his car” and yelling fire. Potvin, who had been collecting the hay with a mechanical raker attached to a Jeep, said he thought the Jeep had caught on fire, Hatchey said.

When they reached the field, Hatchey said they found a few patches of fire around the upper half of the six-acre field. Apparently the fire started underneath the Jeep, he said, and was spread across the field as Potvin continued down the field collecting the hay.

It took Bangor and Hermon firefighters about half an hour to put out the fire. Assistant Fire Chief Frank Dinsmore said that a Hermon brush truck, containing extra water tanks, was called in because it was feared the wind would spread the fire to nearby woods.

After the firefighters left, Hatchey briefly inspected the dry areas of the blackened field for any signs of the fire returning. He then turned his attention to the Jeep.

Underneath the vehicle he found some smoldering grass wrapped around the drive-shaft near the exhaust. At first he had speculated that sparks or heat from the exhaust had ignited the hay.

“It might just have been friction,” Hatchey said pulling more grass from underneath the vehicle.