The Woolwich Board of Selectmen heard an update on Monday, March 2 concerning a Feb. 24 structure fire on Hedge Bridge Road. Woolwich Fire Chief Geoffrey McCarren reported that the structure fire was fully involved by the time the fire department arrived at the scene.

“Whether the drive was plowed was not a factor. The location is isolated and it took a long time to get there,” McCarren told selectmen. “We thank everyone who responded.”

In a follow-up interview, McCarren said the fire “had such a head start.”

“We responded as well as the Bath, West Bath, Wiscasset, Dresden and Richmond fire departments. I believe that Phippsburg and Georgetown departments were also called,” he said.

While speaking to selectmen, McCarren also called attention to a fund that is being created for the late Jason “Skippy” Simpson, who had been a member of the town’s fire department for 25 years and who died suddenly at his home on Feb. 12.

Members of the fire department are establishing a fund in Simpson’s name. McCarren challenged the members of the board of selectmen to join him in donating their next paychecks to the fund in Simpson’s memory.

Those wishing to contribute to the fund should call the Woolwich Fire Department at its non-emergency number: 207-443-3589 and leave a message.

Other business

In other business before the board, there was a discussion about a petition that concerns the Patten Free Library. The petition, which was circulated by Woolwich resident Donald Adams and signed by 181 voters, asks for an article to be added to the Town Warrant in May 2015.

If passed, the proposed article would move the annual library funding request vote from the annual May town meeting to a November vote.

Reached for comment, Mary Ellen Kazimer, president of the trustees of Bath’s Patten Free Library, expressed surprise that the petition had been circulated.

“No one at the library was contacted to ask any questions about the library or its funding,” Kazimer said. “The proposed change presents logistical problems for the library, because Woolwich would be out of sync with the other towns that participate, and with the process of arriving at the budget numbers.”

Kazimer explained that the “open discussion” format of the town meeting had provided a suitable venue for the funding vote in the past and that moving the vote to the November election, “doesn’t seem appropriate.”

Town Administrator Lynette Eastman was asked by the board to contact the Maine Municipal Association for a legal decision concerning the petition and the matter was tabled pending the response.