Fire burns Skowhegan armory

SKOWHEGAN – Firefighters from nine communities fought a massive fire Wednesday night at the Maine State Armory on North School Street in Skowhegan.

The fire, which reportedly destroyed the building, was called in at 6:25 p.m. by a neighbor and by 8 p.m. firefighters were on the defensive.

“We’ve changed from offensive to defensive mode,” said firefighter Ty Strout. “That means no firefighter goes inside.”

By 9 p.m., part of the building had collapsed. There were no reported injuries.

The building was brick with a wooden roof, pitched on one half and flat on the other. Strout said he had no idea what started the blaze, but confirmed there was no ammunition stored inside.

Firefighters from Skowhegan, Anson, North Anson, Madison, East Madison, Canaan, Cornville, Norridgewock and Fairfield responded to the fire.

The building was the home of the Maine Army National Guard’s 133rd Engineering Battalion, whose parent unit is the A Company of Belfast. The citizen-soldiers assigned to the Skowhegan facility are due to be deployed overseas in December.

“These are the ones we are trying to get ready to go,” said Staff Sgt. Bernard Williams of Pittsfield, traffic manager and specialist with the Army Guard, based in Augusta.

Williams said two platoons were assigned to Skowhegan. “That was about 75 to 80 people, all their equipment and all the gear for them to do their job,” he said, adding the fire would likely have a serious effect on the battalion’s ability to deploy efficiently.