Update: April 23, 2024 — In a telephone conversation following a barn fire on Appleton Ridge Road, the Appleton Fire Chief and an investigator from the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office agreed that the April 18 fire was not suspicious, and that a FMO investigation was not necessary.

Though not a finalized determination, the Fire Chief, Prent Marriner, discussed a belief that the fire, which claimed some chickens and a litter of piglets, could have been electrical in nature, possibly from a warming lamp installed for the piglets.

Along with the animals, the fire also took 4,000-5,000 bales, according to Marriner.

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APPLETON — Fire had already taken hold of a two and a half story barn and nearby pickup truck by the time a 2:35 a.m. 911 call was placed, sending emergency response to the back yard of 432 Appleton Ridge Road. 

Smoke and flames from the Thursday morning, April 18, fire could be seen from at least a mile away as Union’s on-duty ambulance crew, a Sheriff’s deputy, and firefighters from Appleton, Union, Washington, Searsmont, Liberty, and Hope made their way to the scene, all the while coordinating ways to get apparatus close enough, set up water supply, and shuttle that water to where it was best needed.

Chickens and a litter of piglets inside the barn did not survive, and, as of 4:30 a.m., owners were unsure if the barn cats had gotten out. Yet life was afoot by 4 a.m. With the clearing of smoke and the calming of emergency activity, some larger livestock stretched their legs in a nearby outdoor area, wandered and grazed, and at times, kept a twig bush shaking, presumably by an animal with an itch to scratch.

Property owners have kept an active farm at this location since May 2023. 

By 5:45 a.m., Appleton and Union firefighters remained on scene.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com