Historic Ogunquit antiques shop goes up in flames. Here's how owners are reacting.

OGUNQUIT, Maine — The owners of a beloved local antiques shop are grateful for and overwhelmed by the support they have received since their business went up in flames on Saturday.

“People have been coming up to us and giving hugs. The condolences have been far and wide,” said Tom Bannister, whose wife, Joan, owns Hutchins’ Antiques, Etc. at 166 Main St.

According to Ogunquit Fire Chief Russell Osgood, first responders were called a little before 8 a.m. They found “pretty heavy smoke” billowing from the structure, and the emergency went right to a second alarm.

On Monday, Osgood said the fire started in the central area of the 12,000-square-foot building, ripped through the roof and caused the second floor to collapse onto the first.

“Once that floor collapsed, we went into defensive mode,” Osgood said.

Firefighters battled the flames from outdoors for about an hour and then went back inside to finish the job, Osgood said. Once the fire was knocked down, firefighters remained on scene to extinguish hot spots and cleared the area at about 7 p.m.

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No one was injured in the fire, which ultimately went to a third alarm, according to Osgood.

Osgood said the center part of the store is a “total loss,” but added the opposing ends of the structure, as well as an addition built in the 1980s, sustained only smoke and water damage.

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Osgood said luck was on the firefighters’ side that morning. Firefighters were in between shifts when the emergency call came in, so there were more of them at the station than otherwise would have been, had the fire occurred well into a shift.

“We were super fortunate,” Osgood said. “It really could have been worse. I’m really proud of all who helped.”

Osgood said firefighters from Wells, York Beach, York Village, North Berwick, South Berwick, Kennebunk, Kittery, Sanford and Biddeford all provided mutual aid.

Osgood said the fire marshal was still working on a report of the incident on Monday morning.

“We do know it was accidental,” Osgood said. “It’s not suspicious.”

Bannister said the fire began during a plumbing repair that had been under way inside the building.

Ogunquit building was more than 180 years old

Bannister said his in-laws, Tom and Betty Hutchins, own the building, which has been in the family for eight generations, going all the way back to 1840. The site started as a blacksmith shop and, when advances in transportation emerged, it became an automobile dealership. About 20 years ago, the site was repurposed into the antiques shop, according to Bannister.

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Bannister said Monday he and his family had not yet been cleared to enter the premises, so the extent of the damage to their property is not fully known to them. He said the future of the property is unknown.

“It’s too soon to theorize what’s going to be there,” he said. “Something will be there, but we do not know what.”

In the meantime, Bannister said the family was approached by at least one antique enthusiast who wanted to know the fate of the full-sized, hand-carved, wooden carousel horse that had been on prominent display inside the antiques shop.

“Yes, it has survived,” Bannister reported. “It was in the front. We hope to salvage that.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ogunquit ME fire: Hutchins’ Antiques, Etc owners grateful for support