By Andrew Knapp
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Copyright 2006 Bangor Daily News
CORINTH, Maine — A fire sparked by lightning at Morrison Elementary School would have gone unnoticed Tuesday night if firefighters were not conducting training exercises nearby, according to Corinth Fire Chief Scott Bragdon.
As a result, he said, the town is fortunate to have an elementary school today.
While practicing on the town’s new ladder truck at Central Middle School, a firefighter noticed a visual fire alarm around 6:39 p.m. at the elementary school about 200 yards away. Upon investigation, crews found a blaze in the attic and managed to extinguish it before flames spread elsewhere.
The school’s attic area and electrical, computer and telephone systems had about $100,000 in damage, Bragdon estimated.
Bragdon said lightning struck the roof of the building, blew mortar and bricks off the chimney and ignited insulation.
When firefighters entered the building, they smelled smoldering electrical wires and noticed a charred telephone junction box through which external lines enter the school.
The smell led firefighters to the attic, which was filled with smoke from burning insulation and wooden rafters. Crews promptly doused the blaze.
“It was a close call - closer than what I care to have,” Bragdon said Tuesday night. “It was one of those cases when we were at the right place at the right time.”
If they weren’t close by, firefighters wouldn’t have responded until it was too late, Bragdon said. When activated, the school’s fire alarm automatically dials 911. Because lightning fried the telephone lines, however, dispatchers never received the call.
“No one would have seen it; no one would have called if we weren’t there,” he said.
About 30 members of the Corinth Fire Department and five vehicles were on hand for the training exercise, facilitating a swift response, according to Bragdon.
The Kenduskeag Fire Department also responded.
No one was injured.
Bragdon said hidden problems in the school’s electrical system may boost initial damage estimates. Custodians will survey the destruction today.
“They’ve got a lot of work ahead of them,” he said.
Firefighters contained water damage to the top floor and prevented the fire from entering the lower level.
Rain fell while crews fought the blaze. Fierce lightning also struck nearby several times during the training exercise, Bragdon said. Crews didn’t notice any problems until they saw flashing lights at the elementary school about 10 minutes after the storm moved out of the region.
A cold front that moved across Maine on Tuesday afternoon brought severe thunderstorms, according to meteorologist Derrick Weitlich of the National Weather Service in Caribou.
Two severe-thunderstorm warnings were issued Tuesday for central Penobscot County. The first started at 4:42 p.m. and ended at 5:45 p.m. The second was issued at 5:52 p.m. and expired at 6:30 p.m.