Six towns, 30 men fight blaze on extremely hot day
Pioneer Times photos/Elna Seabrooks
ABLAZE — Firefighters used multiple hoses to battle the blaze at the Kaufman home last Friday in Smyrna.
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
SMYRNA — Norman Kauffman stood in front of the twisted remains of what had been a garage and looked at the inferno still engulfing his home. Propped up more by faith than stoicism, he said: “The Lord gave me this house. The Lord took it away and His name is still blessed.” He then made a brief reference to Job — the powerful and patient Old Testament figure who is an example of perseverance in suffering.
It was a devastating morning explosion and fire Friday that destroyed Kauffman’s home on Curry Road in Smyrna. Oakfield Fire Chief Joe White said a 9-1-1 call was dispatched through Houlton around 10 a.m. “But, the house was totally involved when we got there. A propane tank blew the garage door out about 30 feet in front of the fire.” White said he spoke with a woman visiting one of Kauffman’s neighbors who claimed to have heard several explosions. 
TEAMWORK — Patten firefighter Jesse Chaloux, left, relays the call to pump more water from the pond into the tankers. Above, Chris Speicher, kneeling, listens with Vernon Kauffman for Chaloux’ call, to shut off the pump when the tankers are filled.
According to White, about 30 firefighters from surrounding towns fought the blaze. “We had four pumpers, six tankers and two ambulances.” Local families with children watched as units from Oakfield, Stacyville, Patten, Island Falls, Sherman and Houlton responded. Water continuously doused the stubborn fire — two and three hoses at a time.
The near-blistering heat at midday was evident from the empty water bottles and soda cans strewn on what had been, only hours earlier, an obviously picture-perfect landscape with colorful flower beds and a manicured lawn. “It must have been in the high 80s, it felt about 120 degrees,” said White.
Humidity hung over the men like an extra weight on top of their heavy firefighting gear. “Hot,” was how Sherman volunteer firefighter Greg Robinson described it. “Kind of hot and kind of smokey,” said Justin Allen, also from Sherman. Beads of sweat rolled down their faces as they geared down for a cool drink. 
REFILL — Water, trucked in from the pond, fills a reservoir so that pumps can keep putting water on the burning house.
Women in bonnets and modest clothing, men in straw hats, young boys on bicycles and little girls in pigtails could be seen along the road and at the Kauffman place. They portrayed a bucolic, uncomplicated lifestyle that belied the reality of what was happening.
White said the fire was not suspicious, but a total loss. To prevent a flare up later on, he called in a local contractor to excavate and rip up the scene that was again watered down. Water was constantly pumped into tankers from a nearby pond and transported up the hill to keep the hoses filled.
Eunice Kulp, Kauffman’s daughter, remained composed as she held her infant son and watched over several other young children sitting on the grass a safe distance from the fire. Innocent and friendly, the children looked up and smiled in response to a simple “hello.” They, too, remained calm or, perhaps, were unaware of what was taking place in front of their eyes in the midst of the excitement. 
Pioneer Times photos/Elna Seabrooks
UNDER CONTROL — A firefighter aims water at the burning house and remnants of the garage that was blown about 30 feet away from the structure following a propane gas tank explosion.
Kulp lives about four miles from her parents’ house and arrived at the scene after receiving several phone calls. She said her family is Amish and pointed out where her father could be found.
Kauffman supposed the fire was the result of an explosion triggered by a propane leak when a wood fire was heating water for laundry. “We scoop the water out and put it into a Maytag wringer washer.” He said no one was injured or even in the house when the fire broke out. White termed that aspect of the fire “lucky – no one was hurt or at home.”
“I was in the barn with one son,” recalled Kauffman. “Another son was shoeing horses, one daughter was in the garden and another was hanging clothes.” His wife, Judy, is in Michigan with the youngest child visiting another daughter who is expecting a baby.
The greenhouse where the family grows bedding flowers and vegetables they sell locally was unscathed by the fire. The barn and their 30 milking cows were safe, as well. 
WATCHING AND WAITING — Residents and back-up personnel can only watch as firemen attempt to save Kauffman’s home. No one was injured or in the house at the time of the explosion. Firefighters and equipment responded from Oakfield, Stacyville, Patten, Island Falls, Sherman and Houlton.
Although all household furnishings apparently were lost to the fire, Kauffman said he was able to save important family documents that were “pitched out of the house in a file cabinet.” His only expressed concern for material things related to his wife, an artist. He speculated that her crafting supplies probably were destroyed.
Although Kaufman said his home is not insured, his faith and spirit remained buoyant: “The church, the community will chip in and help, God willing.”
Thist photo shows persistent flames under the black metal roof of Norman Kauffman’s home in Smyrna. Oakfield Fire Chief Joe White said the tin roof made fighting the blaze very difficult.
