Houlton’s 4th fire in 3 weeks ravages warehouse

HOULTON – The State Fire Marshal’s Office has been called in again to investigate a fourth late-night fire over the last three weeks.

The latest fire occurred early Saturday morning at a Buffalo Street warehouse that belonged to Hogan Tire Co.

Houlton police were notified by an alarm company of a problem at Hogan Tire at about 12:45 a.m. Saturday. They responded by going to the main building on Bangor Street but discovered the fire was at the Buffalo Street location not far away.

The building, which was used to store tires, barrels of oil for a waste-oil furnace, and antifreeze, was already engulfed in flames when firefighters were notified.

Twenty Houlton firefighters responded with two pumpers and an aerial ladder truck. A Houlton ambulance also responded, but no injuries were reported.

The warehouse isn’t far from a Dead River Co. tank farm and propane tank storage area, and other wooden warehouses. A breeze from the west helped firefighters protect those facilities.

The fire is the fourth to hit the town since July 26.

A fire July 26 at the trailer home of Bruce Kitchen on Fourth Street at the Houlton Mobile Home Park has been ruled as intentionally set. That fire occurred in the middle of the night while no one was home.

The second fire on July 30 destroyed a 21/2-story condemned house on Leonard Street. On Aug. 12, a vacant mobile home on Old Woodstock Road in the Houlton Mobile Home Park was destroyed in a late-night fire.

Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone said Sunday the exact cause of the last three fires has not yet been determined. He noted that in the case of the condemned house and the second mobile home there was no source of ignition present, such as electricity.

There was electricity going to the Hogan warehouse.

Galen Hogan, owner of the warehouse, said Saturday the building and contents were insured, but he had not had a chance to determine the value of the loss.