May 01--HOULTON, Maine -- A business at the Houlton Industrial Park reportedly was destroyed by fire on Wednesday evening.
Houlton Fire Department officials said the fire broke out at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Milton Cone, the town's fire chief, remained busy at the scene and could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening, but a Google Earth image search and a family member confirmed on a social networking site that the building belonged to Jackett Enterprises, which is located at 77 Aviation Drive.
Jackett Enterprises is owned by Blaine Jackett. The business offers line painting, striping, sweeping, parking lot maintenance services and more. It has been in operation since 1993, according to its website.
Firefighters attacked the fire from outside as thick black smoke burst from the building.
Resident Kim Henderson, who was near the scene, said Wednesday evening that the smoke was visible throughout the community.
"It's billowing really thick," she said. "The Fire Department is keeping people away. They are really soaking it with water, but I can't tell which building is on fire because of the amount of smoke and fire."
Several other residents of the community told the Bangor Daily News that smoke was visible as far away as Littleton and across the border in Grafton, New Brunswick.
The blaze was almost completely extinguished by 8:30 p.m., and the building was completely destroyed, Henderson said.
The U.S. Border Patrol and the Houlton Police Department assisted at the scene.
Information about the cause of the fire or the amount of damage to property was not immediately available. No injuries were reported.
The industrial park also is home to Houlton International Airport, which has a hangar and office facility there. There are also several businesses in the industrial park, as well as relics of Camp Houlton, a World War II German prisoner-of-war camp that was operational from 1944 to 1946.
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