Fire destroys Brownington dairy barn

by Meghan Wayland

BROWNINGTON — Six fire departments responded to a barn fire here Wednesday in which more than 40 cows perished.  At 5:28 p.m., the Orleans Fire Department was notified of a fire at Adam and Heather Moulton’s 134-acre, organic dairy.  The department was on the scene within seven minutes.

According to Orleans Fire Chief E.J. Rowell, the blaze was “fully involved” upon firefighters’ arrival.  Flames were already tearing through the roof, he said.

Mr. Moulton was home at the time of the fire and witnessed the blaze.  In a phone interview Friday morning, Mr. Rowell described the farmer as being “extremely distraught” Wednesday.

Irasburg, Newport City, Glover, Charleston and Westmore provided mutual aid in the form of tankers and firefighters.  Nearly 50 firefighters battled the fire for four hours.

Orleans firefighters went back Thursday to extinguish a small portion of the structure that had rekindled in order for state investigators to safely arrive on the scene later that day.

The source of the fire is currently under investigation.  The cause is not considered suspicious.