Fire Claims Grassroots Center Community Space

courtesy photo from A Center for Grassroots Organizing The Center for Grassroots Organizing’s barn housing its community space on fire Saturday afternoon, August 10. The Marshfield Volunteer Fire Department was assisted by mutual aid partners from Cabot, Plainfield Walden, with an East Montpelier ambulance crew providing rehab and health checks during the emergency.

MARSHFIELD – Firefighters responded to a blaze on Ennis Hill Road in Marshfield at around 10 a.m. Saturday morning, August 10.

Six hours later, the 4,500 square foot barn housing The Grassroots Center for Community Organizing’s community space had burned to the ground.

No people or animals were inside at the time of the fire, which fully engulfed the building in minutes. Emergency personnel responded in full force and kept the blaze from spreading to any surrounding residences and outbuildings. Early evidence points to an electrical short as the likely cause of the structure fire, wrote Henry Harris, owner of the Grassroots Center farmstead and the center’s programs coordinator.

Responding to a mutual aid call, Cabot’s engine was first to arrive at the scene with 1,000 gallons of water on board, providing the first source of water for handlines directed at the blaze by firefighters.

photo from Facebook/Friends of the Marshfield Volunteer Fire Department Fire engulfs the barn housing The Center for Grassroots Organizing’s community space of Ennis Hill Road. The fire began about 10 in the morning.

The Marshfield Volunteer Fire Department was assisted by additional mutual aid partners from Plainfield, Walden and East Montpelier.

Firefighting can take a physical toll on firefighters, with heat playing a major role, said Cabot’s Fire Chief Dean Deasy. East Montpelier Ambulance provided rehab and health checks during the emergency. Deasy said, “We thank them and all who provided much needed refreshments to our members.”

A residence and a smaller barn owned by farmer Joe Lee, who sold the property to Harris six year ago, were saved due to the firefighting efforts, Harris reported. Plastic covering a greenhouse was melted, but the greenhouse was likely spared and can be used again, he said.

Without a direct water source on scene, multiple tankers trucked in over 55,000 gallons of water from a pond at Under Orion Farm in Cabot. Both Cabot and Marshfield Fire Departments were able to deploy 1,500 gallon “Fol-da-tank” reservoirs that can be set up in under a minute.

photo from Facebook/Cabot, VT Volunteer Fire Dept. Group An excavator sifts through a barn’s remains after a fire that took six hours to put out destroyed The Center for Grassroots Organizing’s community space on Saturday afternoon.

photo from Facebook/Cabot, VT Volunteer Fire Dept. Firefighters survey the steaming remains of a just burned barn on Ennis Hill Road.

Tankers from Cabot, Marshfield, Walden and Plainfield shuttled water from Cabot, seamlessly transferring it from the engines to the Fol-da-tanks while firefighting continued. Over 55,000 gallons of water was brought in during the six hour effort.

“We are incredibly grateful that no one was hurt, that is the most important thing. The response from local fire departments and emergency responders from Marshfield, Cabot, Plainfield, East Montpelier and Walden was fast and amazing. We can’t thank them enough,” said Sarah Cofey, a Grassroots Center board member.

The Grassroots Center is a social justice movement hub, hosting events and organizations centered around youth leadership, regenerative agriculture, racial equity and climate justice.

photo from Facebook/Cabot, VT Volunteer Fire Dept. Cabot Firefighters Susan Socks (at left on nozzle) and Shane Smith hose down the smoldering embers of a barn that burned Saturday. An unidentified Marshfield firefighter (rear) adds water from another hose to the barn’s remains.

photo from Facebook/Cabot, VT Volunteer Fire Dept. Cabot Firefighter Shane Smith (left) passes along information to Cabot Chief Dean Deasy that a large second outbuilding was saved after six hours battling the blaze.

This month marks six years of local and international groups using the community space for events, workshops, art builds, concerts and more, wrote Harris in a press release.

The barn was sold to Harris by Lee six years ago, Harris said. “The former dairy barn was a massive collective renovation effort, representing hundreds of volunteer hours on the building itself and the projects it housed. The Grassroots Center witnessed over half a decade of pivotal events like the Each One Teach One Encounter in 2024, where social movement leaders from six countries came together to work on a unified Food Sovereignty Movement for North and South America.

“The Grassroots Center was a total loss, including the forestry, farming, construction, arts and office equipment and memories housed inside.”

photo from Facebook/Cabot, VT Volunteer Fire Dept. Cabot’s crew (front, from left) Firefighter Wyatt Searles, Junior Firefighter Oliver Searles, Deputy Chief Will Amaden, Firefighters Susan Socks, Shane Smith, Chip Taylo (on pumper) and Chief Dean Deasy (running pump) rest and enjoy water and pizza after responding to a fire on Ennis Hill Road that took six hours to put out on Saturday. Firefighter Steve Hogan (right standing) and Firefighter Nate Smith (sitting on Fol-da-tank) speak with a concerned neighbor.

The annual Uprise! Youth Action Camp, artists, musicians, and allied community organizations used the barn to create and store banners, art, instruments, and costumes. They and Just Construction, a volunteer construction team of builders and social justice organizers for People of Color-led organizations, lost the majority of their equipment in the blaze.

Harris formerly worked with Northeast Kingdom Organizing. All of the tools and equipment that provide his primary livelihood were lost in the fire.To support The Center for Grassroots Organizing and Henry Harris as they work to recover and rebuild visit www.grassrootscenter.net