GORHAM – Following a catastrophic fire on Tuesday morning that extensively damaged Town & Country Cabinets in Gorham, a family member said on Wednesday they will rebuild.

Carol Short, daughter of Ronald and Grace Smith, who own the building at 420 Fort Hill Road, said it’s too early to know specific details of rebuilding.

Short and three others were in the building when fire erupted and she saw the smoke.

“Oh my God, the loft is on fire,” she remembers saying.

Everyone, including two employees, her brother and his dog, escaped the blaze. She said their two workers were helping with cleanup on Wednesday.

Gorham Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre said on Wednesday that the “vast majority” of the tools and machinery are salvageable and “a lot of the building is reusable.”

Lefebvre attributed the origin of the fire to an exhaust fan.

“We had heavy smoke and fire,” Lefebvre said. “Real heavy fire on the second floor.”

Short said the finishing side of the facility was destroyed and the main portion of the building sustained substantial water damage.

The company manufactures custom cabinets along with a variety of other wood products, including furniture.

Lefebvre said fire departments from Buxton, Scarborough, Standish and Windham responded to the scene along with Gorham.

“Thank God for our mutual aid partners,” Lefebvre said. “Mutual aid at the scene gave us the manpower we needed.”

Short praised firefighters for a fast response.

“All firefighters did a fabulous job,” she said.

Buxton sent a fire engine to the scene and an ambulance covered a Gorham station during the fire. Buxton Fire Chief Nathan Schools arrived at the blaze at about 9 a.m.

“There was a large amount of fire in the building,” Schools said.

Lefebvre said two fire hydrants, one at the nearby intersection of Huston Road, provided water. Schools said firefighters also utilized water from a stream.

The three-alarm fire closed a portion of the road (Route 114), according to a dispatcher at Cumberland County Regional Communications Center in Windham.

The shop is a former canning factory. According to its website, Town & Country relocated there in 1981 from Portland, renovating an abandoned blueberry factory about three miles from Gorham Village.

Short said when her family bought the facility, “we found old cans of corn.”

According to Gorham tax records, the 11?2-story building was constructed in 1950. Records estimate replacement cost at about $225,000.

Gorham firefighters were joined by the Buxton, Scarborough, Standish and Windham departments fighting the fire Tuesday at Town & Country Cabinets.