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About 50 firefighters from seven fire departments work Tuesday night to put out a blaze at Adley's Auto Sales and Service on Prospect Street in Rumford. Damage was estimated at $1 million or more, authorities said. (Courtesy Rumford Fire Department)

A fire at Adley’s Auto Sales and Service on Prospect Avenue in Rumford on Tuesday was accidental, Rumford Fire Chief Chris Reed said Thursday.

A commercial building, tow trucks, heavy equipment and tools were destroyed with the loss estimated at $1 million, he said.

State inspectors from the Office of State Fire Marshal and Rumford Fire Department investigated.

Brad Adley, the business owner, told Reed they thawed a water pipe in the back corner of the building, which is a separate structure from the main repair area, and then cooled it.

They put the wall insulation back and Adley checked the pipe and didn’t smell anything before he closed the building up for the night, Reed said.

Investigators determined, however, that process caused the fire, Reed said.

Donna M. Perry is a general assignment reporter who has lived in Livermore Falls for 30 years and has worked for the Sun Journal for 20 years. Before that she was a correspondent for the Livermore Falls...