MINOT — Firefighters from several area towns late Wednesday night were battling an apartment house fire that could be seen from miles away.

Crews from Minot, Mechanic Falls, Hebron and several other towns were at 712 West Minot Road where a building was fully engulfed.

The fire was first reported at about 8:30 p.m. Minutes later, the first crews on scene reported that all occupants were outside and accounted for.

One onlooker said it appeared it a building next to the two-story apartment house was on fire and that a portion of the main building was burning as well.

A witness said there are three apartments in the building. One man, on the second floor, was roused by a passerby who told him that the building was ablaze. The man got out safely, as did other tenants.

The property is also home to Jeanie’s Salon, a hair-styling business operated by Jeanie Cote. The extent of damage to the business was not immediately known.

The building is on a stretch of West Minot Road a short distance from the West Minot Trading Post. A West Minot man two miles away said he could see embers shooting from the burning building.

“From my deck, I’m seeing a bright glow, an orange sky,” said Mike Theriault, at about 9 p.m. “For a while, there were embers coming up.”

By 9:15 p.m., the fire was still burning and several other towns, including Auburn and Norway, were sending crews to Minot.

The scene of the fire is not far from the Mechanic Falls line, which enabled firefighters to access hydrants from that town as they battled the blaze. Crews relied on a parade of tanker trucks that hauled water to the scene.

Firefighters were expected to remain at the scene late into the night.

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