COLRAIN — The sugarhouse at Hager’s Farm on Merrifield Lane sustained minor damage during a fire that was quickly extinguished Wednesday evening.

According to Fire Chief Nicholas Anzuoni, the department was requested shortly before 5 p.m. after an ember rolled down the smokestack and caught the roof of the sugarhouse on fire. Firefighters arrived within minustes to find that the Colrain Police Department and the property owners had the fire under control, allowing firefighters to finish the job before the fire grew into something more serious.

“Because it came in as a structure fire, a nearby truck went and they started calling in a bunch of resources,” Anzuoni said. “By the time we got here, the property owners and the police had it largely extinguished. It was nothing serious.”

Most calls for mutual aid were canceled and by 5:45 p.m., firefighters from Colrain, Shelburne and Halifax, Vermont, were doing final checks for hotspots using thermal cameras and packing up their equipment.

Anzuoni said there were no injuries and damage to the building was minor.

“A little bit of the roof and the back of the building has a burn, but everything else looks pretty good,” Anzuoni said. “Hopefully they’ll be boiling [maple sap] tomorrow.”

Property owner Sherry Hager, thankful the fire was quickly extinguished, was smiling while speaking with firefighters. She said she was offsite and raced back to the farm after getting a call from her husband, Albert, telling her the sugarhouse was on fire.

She added that the cows in a nearby pasture overlooking the sugarhouse were not harmed or spooked by the fire or loud engines.

“They’re fine, probably just watching all the silly people running around,” Hager said.

Anzuoni said it was a much better outcome compared to the fire that occurred at Hager’s Farm in September 2023. The Hagers lost a barn, 39 animals and equipment, including a tractor, baler and their entire stock of Pioneer Valley Popcorn, to a fire started by an extension cord.

Anzuoni said brush fires are more common during this time of year, as it’s dry and the sugarhouse fire was likely a fluke. He added that the owners, police and fire crews made quick work of the fire.

“It was a good job by everyone,” Anzuoni said.

Reach Madison Schofield 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.