Bucksport fire displaces seven

Crews from five towns battled a Dec. 14 blaze in Bucksport that displaced seven people. Photo courtesy of the Orland Fire Department.

By Emily Baer

BUCKSPORT–A fire on a frigid night at 14 Foss Farm Drive in Bucksport left seven people homeless on Dec. 14.

A tenant called 911 at 11:58 pm to report the fire, just off Route 15. Fire crews worked through the night to put out the blaze.

Bucksport Fire Department Capt. Joe Wardwell was the scene commander, with firefighters from Orland, Orrington, Penobscot and Castine providing mutual aid. 

“This was a very involved effort,” said Bucksport Fire Department Capt. Jim Flemming. One of the main challenges that firefighters faced was the location of the structure.

“It is outside of our water district,” Flemming said. “So a big challenge was keeping the water supply to our trucks.”

To do that, crews working the fire near the Orrington town line relied on tank trucks to bring water to the site from hydrants in Bucksport several miles away.

“Thats about a 15-minute turnaround,” he said. “So we just kept calling tankers and we had porta-pools out on the road because they had to have a line laid into where our engine was.”

Frigid conditions also posed a challenge, with temperatures in the low teens.

“[Bucksport] public works came in and helped sand around our hydrants to keep firefighters from falling,” Flemming said. “Driving is also very slippery around the porta-pools.”

At dawn, an excavator arrived on scene to pull debris out of the basement and ensure no residual embers were left. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.