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Historic Maine wilderness inn destroyed by fire


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The Chesuncook Lake House, a historic inn 50 miles north of Moosehead Lake, was destroyed by fire early Saturday.

The remote inn, built in 1864 in Chesuncook Village, originally supplied logging operations in northern Maine. Accessible only by snowmobile in the winter, it is on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

The owners, David and Louisa Surprenant, said in a Facebook post Saturday they are trying to make sense of the conflagration.

“We have suffered a tragedy overnight and the lake house had been claimed by fire. All of the family and employees escaped without harm,” they wrote. “Please refrain from riding up while we deal with this loss. The trail is the only way in and out for our equipment and family and we don’t want any other accidents on the trail.”

The Greenville Fire Department responded to the fire. Assistant Fire Chief Nelson said he did not know where it started or what caused it. The State Fire Marshal’s Office investigating. Scott Richardson, a fire marshal investigator, said it would be several days before they will have any information about how the fire started.

Nelson said the inn was destroyed before firefighters were able to get to the scene. He said the fire started at about 1:30 a.m. but it took the owners, whose cellphone service was cut off, about two hours to alert the fire department.

Nine firefighters set out on five snowmobiles, several of them loaned out by private citizens, hauling portable pumps and other equipment.

By the time they reached the inn at daybreak the fire was over.

Nelson said the owners and their adult children were displaced by the fire. There was one guest who was not around when the fire broke out.

The inn was a popular stop-off spot for snowmobilers seeking food and gasoline.

A barn and three cabins on the property were undamaged, Nelson said.

He said the Surprenants planned to stay in the cabins. The couple also own the Abol Bridge Campground in Millinocket.

By midmorning Saturday, more than 250 people had written comments on the inn’s Facebook page.

The inn and several other buildings that make up Chesuncook Village were put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

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Sucks.  Was suppossed to be our destination today we had a 250 mile or so loop planned headed there for fuel after we pushed 2 feet of fresh for 150 miles to get there. Instead we had to regroup and short the loop because we needed the fuel 

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3 hours ago, Sal Rosenberg said:

 

001.JPG

Cool looking place, all that old dry timber once it starts burning it don't stop, those old remote historic buildings should be sprinklered as it's there only chance at survival when the fire starts.

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45 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Cool looking place, all that old dry timber once it starts burning it don't stop, those old remote historic buildings should be sprinklered as it's there only chance at survival when the fire starts.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Heat detectors, smoke detectors, commercial fire extinguishers, and at least one heavy duty 1" hose with nozzle, and an auxilliary generator/gas powered water pump system to deliver at least 60 PSI of water. 

They shoudl run-test the fuckers every month to make sure they are in top running condition. 

Too fuckin' late now. 

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6 hours ago, Polaris 550 said:

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Heat detectors, smoke detectors, commercial fire extinguishers, and at least one heavy duty 1" hose with nozzle, and an auxilliary generator/gas powered water pump system to deliver at least 60 PSI of water. 

They shoudl run-test the fuckers every month to make sure they are in top running condition. 

Too fuckin' late now. 

Plus the place is more than likely on a well as if it could support any sort of sprinkler system :lol: 

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14 hours ago, Nazipigdog said:

Democrats?

I was thinking Jewish Lightning. With all the crappy winters we have had lately, business must have been very slow. Probably ready to retire, once they get the insurance money. LOL

Edited by Frostynuts
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6 minutes ago, Frostynuts said:

I was thinking Jewish Lightning. With all the crappy winters we have had lately, business must have been very slow. Probably ready to retire, once they get the insurance money. LOL

:bc:

 

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12 hours ago, Snake said:

With all the water in the gas there, they should have used it on the fire.

Seriously though, tough deal all the way around.

Funny I've filled up there multiple times with my skidoos and never had an issue, maybe just inferior brands? :snack:

 

7 hours ago, sledderj said:

 

Did someone park an Artco C-tech too close?  :dunno:  

 

 

Fucking @Sal Rosenberg is behind the tragedy! :fuckoff:

 

7 hours ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Cool looking place, all that old dry timber once it starts burning it don't stop, those old remote historic buildings should be sprinklered as it's there only chance at survival when the fire starts.

I'm just hoping they had good insurance and will rebuild, place was a pretty nice stop to have in the middle of the woods 50 miles from the nearest civilization.

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9 minutes ago, Frostynuts said:

I was thinking Jewish Lightning. With all the crappy winters we have had lately, business must have been very slow. Probably ready to retire, once they get the insurance money. LOL

IF. IF it’s got coverage 🤦‍♂️

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24 minutes ago, old indy said:

IF. IF it’s got coverage 🤦‍♂️

In that location with no access to roads? That’s a big risk to insure. By the time the fire crews got there it was done.

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9 hours ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Cool looking place, all that old dry timber once it starts burning it don't stop, those old remote historic buildings should be sprinklered as it's there only chance at survival when the fire starts.

 

Yep. If you don't get one of those under control within the first 3 - 5 mins it's all over .   Just a damn shame , super nice people and a vital fuel , food stop for getting out into the backwoods . We were there last month actually . :bc:

Edited by Sal Rosenberg
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56 minutes ago, Snoslinger said:

X2. i guess there aren't any sprinkler systems running off wells anywhere :lol:

 

Commercial well field yes that place not a fucking chance :flush: you're ignorant about everything STFU 

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2 hours ago, Sal Rosenberg said:

 

Yep. If you don't get one of those under control within the first 3 - 5 mins it's all over .   Just a damn shame , super nice people and a vital fuel , food stop for getting out into the backwoods . We were there last month actually . :bc:

Where is it? State map dosnt show a trail within 50 miles of the place.

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