LIVERMORE – A camp-turned-home on Hathaway Hill Road was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning, fire Chief Donald Castonguay said.

Owner David Desrosiers, who was not home at the time of the fire, purchased the property about a year ago, he said. The home is at the road’s end, about half a mile beyond where the road turns to gravel, he added.

Castonguay received a call from a neighbor between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. asking if he had issued a burning permit, because there was heavy black smoke in the area.

With no permit issued, Castonguay realized it was a structure fire and called Livermore Falls and Jay departments to assist.

In the meantime, someone in Canton also saw the smoke and called the Canton Fire Department for what they thought was a separate fire. The call was canceled after the department realized the smoke was from the Livermore fire.

When firefighters arrived, the building, set on blocks with no foundation, was fully engulfed. The main part of the building was approximately 16 by 20 feet with an addition about the same size, he said. The home burned to the ground. A separate two-car garage was not involved.

There was a wood stove in the home but Castonguay said he had no idea what started the fire. A state fire marshal was called to investigate.

Castonguay estimated the cost to rebuild the camp would be close to $40,000.

One firetruck was able to get into the remote location but a neighbor’s all-terrain vehicle was used to bring in personnel and the use of other 4-by-4s was requested, he said.

Firefighters are pretty tired, he said, noting the departments that also responded to a Monday night fire at Norlands Living History Center.

Castonguay and some of the crew returned to the fire station from Norlands about 2 p.m. Tuesday but were called back about 6 p.m. that evening. Sawdust that created storage for ice caught fire and started smoldering. Firefighters dumped another 1,000 gallons of water on the sawdust to contain the fire, he said.

A crew of six stayed at Norlands most of the day Tuesday after Castonguay sent firefighters home in shifts during the night.

“I can’t say enough about all the help we had from all the fire departments,” he said of the mutual aid from 10 departments at Monday night’s fire.

“A lot of people work out of town and small towns can’t afford full-time departments so mutual aid is so appreciated,” he said.