A fire Wednesday caused significant damage to a St. Albans home that officials said was formerly used partly as a cannabis growing facility.
The blaze at 71 Denbow Road was reported around 2:40 p.m., the St. Albans Fire Department said in a statement on social media.
Crews dispatched from St. Albans, Hartland and Corinna arrived less than seven minutes later and found the 1 ½ story home with fire on both floors, the department said.
“Firefighters conducted searches for trapped occupants and found none,” the department said. “They then initiated an interior attack but were challenged by the building’s layout and its former use as a marijuana cultivation site, with living spaces located on the second floor.”
An estimated 100,000 gallons of water were brought to the scene and used to fight the fire, officials said.
Additional mutual aid crews came from the Canaan, Detroit, Skowhegan, Dexter, Newport, Dover-Foxcroft and Plymouth fire departments. Sebasticook Valley Ambulance also responded, while the Pittsfield Fire Department provided station coverage for St. Albans.
“High heat and humidity, along with limited volunteer staffing during the workday, added to the challenges,” the statement said. “Despite those conditions, St. Albans firefighters and mutual aid partners assembled the personnel and resources needed to battle the fire.”
St. Albans fire Chief Paul Doughty could not be reached Thursday for more information. The department’s social media post did not specify the extent of damage to the home.
The Office of State Fire Marshal was requested to investigate the fire’s cause. A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Public Safety, which includes the office, did not immediately respond to an inquiry Thursday.
Alexis Soucy, spokesperson for the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy, said via email that nobody is, or has been, licensed or registered to grow marijuana at the address of the residence.
Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office confirmed his agency executed a search warrant at the property in 2024. The bust came amid a law enforcement crackdown on suspected illegal marijuana grow houses, which federal prosecutors at one point said totaled 200 and suggested could be connected to organized, transnational crime organizations with ties to China.
At the time, Somerset County Sheriff Dale Lancaster said his investigators found more than 200 mature cannabis plants and trimmings from roughly 1,500 more plants.
They also reported finding a black mold infestation as well as hazardous electrical wiring at the site. The two-story home had been almost entirely hollowed out to make way for thousands of plants and industrial-grade heating and lighting equipment.