NEW VINEYARD - Wood stove ashes set too close to a house on Anson Valley Road on Friday caused minor damage to an ell.

The Fire Department responded to a call from owner Sylvia Fogarty, 93, shortly after 10 a.m., fire Chief Douglas Churchill said. When they arrived, small flames were going up the wall of the shed-type ell but the house was not affected, he said.

Fogarty said later Friday that she took a bucket of ashes outside as usual and set them in a big pile of snow, thinking they would pose no danger. Later, she went out and discovered the fire. She said she was amazed at how quickly the wood on the home - it's at least 178 years old - burned.

Fogarty said she quickly threw water on the flames but realized it wasn't going to be enough so she called 911. The dispatcher kept telling her to leave the building, she said, but she stayed because she believed she was safe in the main house and would stay warm.

"I knew I wasn't in danger. It was in the ell. I wasn't going to leave my home," she said.

No one was hurt. Fogarty was checked by NorthStar ambulance personnel.

Churchill had no estimate of the monetary damage, which Fogarty said she would have repaired in the spring.

Strong and New Portland fire departments assisted New Vineyard's.