A fire early Saturday consumes a structure at 8 Cushnoc Road in Vassalboro that housed a marijuana-growing business. It is the second grow operation to be destroyed by fire this year in town. Photo courtesy of Vassalboro Fire Department
VASSALBORO — A marijuana-growing operation was destroyed by a weekend fire, officials said Monday, making it the second grow facility to be leveled by flames this year in Vassalboro.
At about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, a passerby reported the fire at 8 Cushnoc Road, near the intersection with Route 201.
It appeared initially that flames had only reached part of the H-shaped, metal building, but strong winds and a “large amount of fire load” led to the rest of the structure being destroyed, the Vassalboro Fire Department wrote in a Facebook post. Deputy Fire Chief Bob Williams confirmed the details of the fire Monday.
Firefighters from Augusta, Chelsea, Waterville and Winslow assisted those from Vassalboro in battling the blaze for hours. The last firefighters cleared the scene at about 10 a.m. Saturday.
Williams said an excavator was brought in to remove metal siding and roofing from the building so firefighters could douse the flames.
No one was inside the structure and there were no injuries.
The fire’s cause remained under investigation Monday.
Records from a Board of Selectmen’s meeting in December show four licenses were approved to allow the cultivation of marijuana at the property. Two of the licenses were for individual growers and two for companies: Grown Men LLC and Kennebec Healing LLC.
Efforts to reach those businesses Monday were unsuccessful. The licensed parties did not appear to have contact information available online or through the town.
The remains of a marijuana-growing facility at 8 Cushnoc Road in Vassalboro that was destroyed early Saturday by fire. Officials say no one was hurt and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. It is the second grow operation to be destroyed by fire this year in town. Photo courtesy of Vassalboro Fire Department
It is not clear how many marijuana plants were destroyed by flames. Town Manager Mary Sabins said she did not have details on the business, and the code enforcement officer was not available Monday.
Another grow operation in Vassalboro was destroyed in a February fire at 658 Webber Pond Road. A person who was processing marijuana heard “popping sounds” in the walls, fire officials said at the time. By the time firefighters arrived, the building was consumed by flames. The worker escaped uninjured.
State investigators later determined the fire was accidental and caused by an electrical problem.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
