ACADIA NAT’L PARK — Quick action by the Winter Harbor/Gouldsboro Fire Department is credited by park officials with saving the Bunkhouse building in the Schoodic Peninsula section of the park early last Sunday.
A dozen volunteer firefighters and four fire engines responded to a call received at 1:52 a.m. from the company that monitors the building’s fire alarms.
When firefighters entered the building, they found a hallway that was hot and filled with smoke. They used an infrared camera to locate the source of the heat, which was a sparking heater in the ceiling. They turned off the building’s electrical power and removed the smoldering ceiling tiles around the heater.
The building was unoccupied at the time and no one was injured.
The Bunkhouse contained bowling lanes when it was part of the U.S. Navy base near Schoodic Point. Now that the former base belongs to the National Park Service, the building is used as a dormitory for middle school students who come to Schoodic for educational programs.
“The building the firefighters saved is very important to over 900 students a year who come to stay near the ocean for multiple days while learning in Acadia National Park,” Superintendent Kevin Schneider said.
Dick Broom
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