March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Car repair shop fire hard to extinguish > 30 firefighters battle flames in Benton

BENTON — A raging fire fed by propane and gasoline Monday afternoon destroyed an automotive repair shop in the heart of town.

At least four people were inside the wood-frame building at Dan’s Used Cars and Parts when the fire broke out. One employee, identified as Bruce Salsbury Sr., later was taken to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Waterville for treatment of minor smoke inhalation, authorities said.

It took 30 firefighters from three communities nearly two hours to control the fire. The cause remains under investigation.

Fairfield Fire Chief Dale Sweet estimated the damage at more than $100,000.

“It’s a substantial loss,” Sweet said at the scene. Fairfield provides fire protection for Benton.

The fire broke out shortly before 3 p.m. on the second floor of the building. It spread quickly, fed by propane tanks, oil and the gasoline from at least three vehicles being repaired inside the 40-by-40-foot building, Sweet said.

Workers use the ground floor for automotive repairs. On the second floor they store a variety of auto parts, including engines and transmissions.

“There were a lot of [small] explosions inside,” Sweet said.

As firefighters from Fairfield, Waterville and Winslow fought the fire, the plume of smoke rising from the building could be seen at least a mile away.

Three other buildings and a home crowd the lot at the corner of Route 100 and Sebasticook Bridge Road. Firefighters contained the flames to the repair garage.

The fire was declared under control shortly before 5 p.m. The building, which is insured, was left a smoking, charred shell.

“Nobody seems to know what happened,” Sweet said.

The temperature at the scene hovered around 14 degrees, making hoses rigid and turning water to patches of ice on the ground. Icicles formed on the rims of the firefighters’ protective helmets.

The owner of Dan’s Used Cars, Dan Witham, had left for Florida on Christmas Day, employees said. He plans to fly back to Maine to inspect the damage.

His son, Alan Witham, sipped coffee from a foam cup as he watched firefighters work. Alan Witham, who helps run the business, had been at the company’s nearby junkyard when the fire broke out.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said.

Dan Witham’s home is a stone’s throw from the building that burned. The fire spared both the home and some two dozen used cars on the lot.

The business, which has stood at the lot for 25 years, will remain open for car sales. Repair work will be sent elsewhere, for now.

“It’s been a tough day,” Alan Witham said.


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