RUMFORD — A fire of unknown origin heavily damaged a marijuana grow room in the back of a wood products plant on Route 2 on Saturday morning, Rumford Fire Chief Chris Reed said.

An investigator from the state Fire Marshal’s Office will inspect the scene Monday to try to determine the cause, the chief said.

No one was in the 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot Woodworkers Paradise plant when firefighters arrived, and Reed said to his knowledge no one was inside at the time of the alarm at 8:46 a.m. No injuries were reported.

He said the fire started in the 25- by 40-foot grow room, which is rented from the furniture business owner, whose name was not immediately available. The fire was contained to that room, and fire crews cut a hole in the roof above it to vent heat and smoke.

“Everything in there was made out of combustible materials” such as wood and plastic, he said.

Reed said he didn’t know who rented the grow room.

Woodworkers Paradise manufactures furniture and displays its products in a showroom, which firefighters emptied of high-value pieces to prevent further damage, Reed said.

Reed said there was no estimate of the financial loss and it was not known if there was insurance on the building.

Firefighters from Andover, Mexico, Peru, Dixfield and Bethel assisted in extinguishing the blaze by 10:30 a.m.

emarquis@sunmediagroup.net

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Smoke and steam rise from the Woodworkers Paradise building on Route 2 in Rumford on Saturday morning, where Rumford Fire Chief Chris Reed said flames erupted in a rented marijuana grow room. (Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times)

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Firefighters from six towns battle a fire in the back of Woodworkers Paradise furniture plant on Route 2 in Rumford on Saturday morning. Fire Chief Chris Reed said the blaze erupted in a rented marijuana grow room. (Liz Marquis/Sun Journal)

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