By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Lincolnville, Marion, Tampa, and Lost Springs firefighters responded to a structure fire called in early Friday morning by Mike Benda of Lincolnville.

Lincolnville fire chief Lester Kaiser said the call came in at 1:20 a.m., and four area fire departments automatically responded.

A Lincolnville firefighter who lives in the vicinity was the first to arrive and took command of the situation. The structure was engulfed in flames, so firefighters staged a defensive attack to keep it from spreading to surrounding trees.

Five water tankers used to combat the fire were re-filled from reserve tanks on Centre school grounds.

When the roof fell in, firefighters had to remove the tin in order to extinguish the fire underneath.

“The fire was under control around 3 a.m.,” Kaiser said, “but we knew it was going to be windy that day, so we spent 1½ hours overhauling the structure to make sure it was all out.”

Kaiser said the state fire marshal hadn’t determined a cause, but Benda reportedly told others that he had done some cleaning up around the shed the evening before and had burned a pile of trash. He did not know how embers from that pile got into the shed and set it on fire.

Destroyed were several antique vehicles, including a well-drilling truck and a tractor. The back wall of the shed remained standing.

“Everything worked the way it was supposed to, so that was good,” Kaiser said.