LIVERMORE FALLS - Firefighters from eight towns spent several hours Wednesday trying to put out smoldering fires in hay bales at a farm on Route 106, near the Leeds line.

"The whole length of the barn was going when I arrived," Livermore Falls Police Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said. The report of fire came in just before 11 a.m. and firefighters cleared the scene at about 3:45 p.m.

Property owner Gerard Castonguay and some helpers were trying to rebuild the large barn that had collapsed under heavy snow last winter, Livermore Falls fire Lt. Alan Chretien said.

They were doing some welding from a bucket truck on a beam when a spark set off the fire, he said.

One of Castonguay's workers suffered minor burns to his arms, but was not taken to a hospital for treatment, Chretien said.

More than 30 firefighters responded from the towns of Jay, Leeds, Livermore, Livermore Falls, Manchester, Readfield, Wayne and Wilton. Fayette firefighters stood by at Livermore Falls Fire Station.

"We were hurting for manpower," Chretien said. "We greatly appreciated the mutual aid."

Tankers shuttled water from near Pike's Corner Oasis in Livermore Falls and Barker's Farm in Leeds to portable dump tanks at the site.

"We had to keep breaking apart big, round rolls of baled hay to put water on them," Chretien said. "There was at least 30 of them."

Firefighters were using rakes and other tools initially to break apart the bales, but then Castonguay got his excavator to shake open the bales to get at the fire, he said.

Castonguay didn't have insurance on the barn, Livermore Falls Fire Chief Marvin Parker said.

A paving company shut down the road to get firetrucks through Route 106.

On the way to the fire, a hose came loose from the cab of a Livermore firetruck, Steward said. The hose struck a driveway barrier at a residence at the intersection of Routes 17 and 133, snapping off the nozzle on the hose. A tire rim, which was anchoring one side of the barrier, landed in a yard across Route 133, the chief said.

The hose continued to whip around, striking a pole in front of the Lunch Pad on Route 133 and scraping against the back bumper of a van parked in the lot.

Luckily, no one was hurt, Steward said.

Chretien said firefighters would continue to watch the fire site for the next few days to make sure it didn't reignite.