An Eastport building that's housed everything from Navy barracks to a hardware store burned to the ground yesterday.

It was one of Eastport's largest fires in recent memory. The Old Quoddy Village building only housed one man in recent months. Jim Guertin told the BDN that he called 911 when he saw fire spreading from his wood stove to the area around the chimney. He was able to escape unharmed.

Crews from Eastport and Perry battled the blaze for two hours that destroyed the structure that dates back to the 1930's. Originally built as housing for workers from the Passamaquoddy Tidal Power Project, and was also used as Navy barracks during World War II. The 9,000 square foot building had most recently been used as a Grossman's Hardware store.

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