2-alarm fire leaves two people homeless

LACONIA — Two people were left homeless after a two-alarm fire extensively damaged their home early Monday evening.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation as of Tuesday afternoon, Laconia Fire Chief Kirk Beattie said. The chief said it appeared the fire started in a shed “up close, or attached” to the two-story house located on the corner of Fair Street and Winnisquam Avenue adjacent to the Fair Street Bridge.

The home’s two residents, a woman and an adult  daughter, and another daughter who was visiting, were inside the house at the time. They were alerted when a passerby banged on the door and told them the house was on fire.

“The fire hadn’t broken into the first floor where they were,” Beattie said, explaining why the three women were unaware of the fire burning on the second floor.

The Lakes Region Mutual Aid dispatch center received several calls reporting the fire at about 6 p.m. Monday. By the time the first firefighters arrived on the scene there were flames showing at the rear of the building, and smoke coming out the windows in the front of the building.

The first responders immediately called for a first alarm for additional manpower, summoning off-duty firefighters as well as personnel from other departments to cover the city’s two fire stations.

Ultimately a second alarm was sounded, bringing personnel and equipment from the Gilford, Belmont, Sanbornton, Meredith, Tilton-Northfield and Franklin fire departments to the scene.

Some firefighters worked to douse the flames from the exterior of the house, while others simultaneously went inside the residence to extinguish the fire from that position.

Beattie estimated the fire caused $75,000 in damage. He said the home’s two residents were staying with relatives.

Investigators from the Laconia Fire Department and the state Fire Marshal’s Officer were working to pinpoint the cause of the fire, he said.

Laconia police also provided assistance at the fire scene. Meredith EMS, as well as Meredith, Belmont and Holderness fire departments provided coverage Central and Weirs Beach fire stations.