TURNER – A machine at the DeCoster hatchery on Route 4 caught fire Thursday night resulting in a blaze that brought crews from several area towns.

A DeCoster worker checking on the building shortly before 8 p.m. found an incubator in flames and called for help after attempts to snuff out the fire failed.

There were no workers inside the building when the fire began, and there were no reports of injuries. The first police officers at the scene reported flames ripping from the roof and dark smoke could be seen a mile away.

Sixteen-year-old Anna Mendoza said she went to the hatchery with her parents, who work there, just before 8 p.m. to check on the building.

When the family arrived, they found fire inside the single-story building constructed of cement blocks.

“We could see flames underneath a machine. My dad tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher, but the smoke was too bad,” Mendoza said. “We couldn’t breathe. We had to get out.”

Mendoza’s father, Moises, called for help when it was clear he could not subdue the flames, his daughter said. Fire crews from Turner, Auburn, Livermore and other towns responded and began to attack the flames, which burned through the roof of the building.

According to Mendoza, the machine where the fire started is called “The Green Monster.” She said it’s an incubator where eggs are placed when they are first shipped to DeCoster. There were unhatched eggs in the machine that burned, Mendoza said.

“I hope they can stop it before there’s too much damage,” Mendoza said. “I kind of love this place. I came to the U.S. when I was 7 years old, and my parents have been working here since.”

Mendoza said she came to the U.S. from Mexico nine years ago shortly after her father got a job at DeCoster.

The cause of the blaze was not known. Mendoza said the floor around the incubator is constructed of old wood. Fire crews were still battling the fire at 9:30 p.m. and were expected to be at the scene late into the night.

According to Mendoza, the hatchery only recently began taking new eggs again after a period when the building was closed. There were no workers inside the building Thursday before the fire started, she said.

Fire officials were expecting to begin investigating the cause once the blaze was under control.