SWANVILLE - Firefighters from a half-dozen towns worked through the night into early hours Tuesday morning to contain a house fire on a rural road north of Swan Lake. 

The fire at 109 Chandler Road was called in around 5 p.m., Feb. 16. Belfast Fire Chief Jim Richards said it was reported as a chimney fire. When a second call came in that the house had caught fire, he called in mutual aid from neighboring towns.

The owner, William West, was home at the time and escaped without injury, Richards said. He is believed to be staying with family members living in the area.

Richards said Belfast firefighters worked at the scene until around 11 p.m., then returned shortly after 3 a.m.. Strong winds, temperatures low enough to freeze valves and hoses, and a metal roof that prevented the fire from ventilating added time to the task.

“It’s almost impossible to put out something like that, no matter how many thousands of gallons of water we dumped on it,” he said. 

Richards said there were at least seven tankers at the house. The closest reserves had to be fetched from a dry hydrant six miles away, by the dame at the south end of the lake.

The house would ultimately be gutted by fire. Richards said much of the effort went into keeping the blaze from spreading to an attached woodshed and adjacent barn.

“That’s what we was worried about before we did it,” Richards said. “We didn’t want it to get into that big barn.”

As of Tuesday morning, it appeared they’d been successful. However, the rear of house was still smoldering and Richards said his team would likely go back a third time.

“Somebody’ll see sparks flying,” he said. “But she can’t go too far. She’s totally iced over.”

Contact Ethan Andrews at: news@penbaypilot.com