Fire destroys cabin at Camp Kawanhee for Boys in Weld

The charred remains of Coyote Lodge at Kawanhee Camp for Boys in Weld smolder Monday. No one was injured. Franklin County Emergency Management Agency photo

WELD — A fire destroyed the one-room Coyote Lodge at the Camp Kawanhee for Boys on Monday morning, Fire Chief Corey Hutchinson said. Eleven campers and counselors were displaced.

No one was injured, and the cause is under investigation.

The cabin at 58 Kawanhee Lane, off Route 142, was engulfed in flames when Hutchinson arrived within five minutes of the 8:15 a.m. report of a structure fire.

No one was injured Monday morning when a fire destroyed Coyote Lodge at Camp Kawanhee for Boys on Webb Lake in Weld. Franklin County Emergency Management Agency photo

The boys living in the cabin were mostly 13 years old, and the counselors are age 18 or older.

The campers were all at the dining hall for breakfast when the fire broke out, according to Mark Standen, co-executive director of the George and Raymond Frank Foundation, which operates the camp.

The displaced campers were moved to another cabin and parents were notified of the fire, Standen said. It was also made clear to the boys that counselors are available to help them, if needed, he said.

Camp staff hold fire drills with all the campers, Standen said, and the camp is insured. The staff also work as their own fire department.

Hutchinson said the Kawanhee fire department did a great job putting water on the back side of the lodge to keep the fire from spreading into the woods or to other buildings.

More than 20 firefighters from Weld, Carthage, Dixfield, East Dixfield, Farmington, Jay, Temple and Wilton responded to the fire at the camp, which is on the shore of Webb Lake. New Sharon Fire Department covered the Farmington Fire Station. NorthStar EMS ambulance responded.

Tim Hardy, director of Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, contacted the American Red Cross.

Fire investigator Jeremy Damren of the Office of the Maine State Fire Marshal is investigating to determine the cause.