CORINNA – Firefighters from six communities twice fought flames at a Corinna dairy farm Wednesday after a morning fire reignited, destroying both a one-story home and an attached barn.

The original fire was reported at 8:45 a.m. at the site on Packard Road, a dirt road off Route 43, and Assistant Chief Shawn Richards said it began in an electrical box in the farmhouse kitchen. Fire departments from Corinna, Dexter and St. Albans fought the original blaze.

“There was minor fire damage but lots of smoke and water damage,” Richards said at about 10:45 a.m., after all firefighters had returned to the station.

“It could have been pretty nasty,” he said, adding that one of the farm workers was outside and smelled smoke, giving firefighters a head start. He said the fire damage was contained to the kitchen and a small area in the attic. But shortly after making that statement – 16 minutes later – the house had reignited and was reported to be in flames.

A St. Albans firefighter on his way back to the fire radioed “Uh, oh. She’s right in the sky. We’ve got a big one.”

Help came from Garland, Dexter, St. Albans, Hartland and Newport fire departments. Station coverage was supplied by Pittsfield and Sangerville.

Firefighters said they may never know what caused the re-ignition as the house and barn were completely destroyed. A thermal imaging camera indicated that the fire was out before firefighters left the scene after the first fire. There was some speculation that when the electricity was turned back on, it caused a second fire.

Richards said the farm, known as Simpson’s View, was owned by Jim Leblouf of Massachusetts and leased by Ron Simpson. There were about 200 calves at the farm. The dairy operation was elsewhere.

All of the animals were removed to safety and no firefighters or animals were injured, despite more than seven hours of firefighting.

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