Fire damages Tri-County Technical Center

By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff

DEXTER — An early morning fire Saturday severely damaged the Tri-County Technical Center, according to Dexter Fire Chief Matt Connor.

The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire at the technical high school, located at 14 Abbot Hill Road, Connor said Saturday.

Because of smoke and water damage throughout the building, classes were canceled Monday, Kevin Jordan, superintendent of Alternative Organizational Structure 94, the district that oversee the technical high school, said Saturday.

The school serves students from Dexter, Exeter, Garland, Ripley, Harmony, Newport, Guilford, Dover-Foxcroft and Milo, which are located in Somerset, Piscataquis and Penobscot counties.

The blaze was reported at about 2:14 a.m. Saturday by a Dexter police officer patrolling the area. The fire was contained to the building trades and metal manufacturing areas of the school, but the fire spread to the flat roof and was difficult to get under control, according to Jordan.

“We couldn’t see flames when we arrived, but the roof had a glow to it and we knew we had our work cut out for us,” the fire chief said.

Firefighters were able to begin clearing the scene about 4:15 a.m. Crews from Corinna, Dover-Foxcroft, Sangerville and Garland assisted the Dexter Fire Department.