Alton Bay landmark destrpyed

It was once the mainstay of summer life in Alton Bay. And was getting a new lease on life as luxury housing.

Yesterday morning it was still standing, but fire department and construction officials were declaring the historic Bay View Pavilion a total loss after a five-alarm fire roared through its interior.

“I don't want to even look at it — it makes me want to cry,” said construction worker Jay Desrosier, who was working on framing the interior of the condo units until yesterday. “I’ve put six or seven months into the rear wall. Part of my blood was in the building. I put a lot of love into it.

Looking around at the 50 or so firefighters still on the scene early yesterday afternoon, Desrosier said he still found the reality of the devastating fire hard to comprehend. “It’s a shame. I just can’t believe it.”

The pavilion was built in 1928, when the area was one of the Lakes Region’s most popular tourist destinations. It hosted some the most popular bands of the Big Band era. But the structure had fallen on hard times in recent years. It was revived in the 1990s as a restaurant and roller-skating rink, but was closed two years ago.

And it was with mixed emotions that most long-time residents learned last summer that the present owner, Lee Masarien, was planning to covert the large waterfront structure into condominium housing units. They were glad to hear that the neglected structure was being retained but somewhat sad to see it fade from its longtime role as the center of Alton’s summer social life.

Local photographer Matthew Fassett was attending a Rotary Club breakfast at around 6:45 a.m. in the VFW building when he learned that the building was on fire. The owner of Digital Magic rushed over to his office, across the street from the pavilion, and began shooting pictures.

“It was devastating, I was heartbroken,” Fassett confessed, standing across from the structure shortly after noon. “I’ve taken so many picture of this building in the past four months.”

Jay Sydow, who works at neighboring Parker Marine and witnessed the fire, said "huge flames were coming out everywhere". "The whole deck, all the way across the water's edge was on fire."

Sydow said t he pavilion was the place the be in Alton Bay throughout his childhood. "As a 6-year-old, I roller-skated down there. I basically met all of my friends down there. That was the mainstay of life in Alton in the summer."

Fire Chief Alan Johnson said his department first received word of the fire at about 6:15 a.m. The first crews on the scene reported seeing fire coming from the top of the structure and a new cupola that had been added recently. Johnson, driving in from the opposite side of the bay, said he could see fire going through the roof.

Not long afterwards, Johnson upped the Mutual Aid call to five-alarms to gather manpower to fight the blaze. He said his crew was having a tough time containing the fire, which apparently started in the “middle” condominium and spread to three others that were on the waterfront side of the building.

At the busiest point, Chief Johnson said that almost 70 firefighters were on the scene aiding the Alton crews; they came from New Durham, Laconia, Gilmanton, Gilford, Allenstown, Wolfeboro, Barnstead, Pittsfield, Rochester and Farmington. “The state fire marshal is here,” Johnson said shortly after noon. And the Belknap County Fire Investigation Team is also here.”

Several hours after the first alarm was sounded, two ladder trucks were still pouring water on parts of the building as Johnson reviewed the structure’s blueprints and tried to direct his forces to bring the fire under control.

The fire is just the latest in a spate of blazes that have hit the Alton-New Durham and Farmington areas. In fact, Chief Johnson said he was scheduled to meet with representatives of those other two departments Thursday afternoon to discuss the problem. Most of the fires have been in unoccupied buildings but Johnson said he thought at least one was in a structure with people inside in New Durham.

According to real estate websites, the seven condominiums that were being built in the pavilion building were priced at $482,000. No one was yet living in the building and no one was believed to be inside the structure when the fire started. There were no injures reported.

Chief Johnson said that no cause was yet determined for the fire. “Arson is the hardest crime to prove because you have to catch someone doing it,” he bemoaned.

Johnson said he thought the insurance company would likely call the building a total loss.

Dennis Leanne, who had been doing sheet rocking at the building for the last few weeks, said he found out about the fire when he followed several fire truck to the site shortly before 7 a.m. “Overall I’d say that 60 or 70-percent (of the structure) is gone, I’d guess,” he said.

But Jay Desrosier, who has worked for Carpe Diem, the Rochester-based general contracting company for several years, said he had no doubt that he would be back working on the Alton Bay Pavilion site within days. “The guy who runs this company is incredible. He’s the best I’ve ever worked for. He’ll get it done.”