Cause of fire that destroyed Northfield restaurant uncertain

NORTHFIELD — Investigators may never be able to pinpoint the cause of a one-alarm fire that destroyed a local restaurant early Sunday morning, according to a local fire official.

Seven departments battled the blaze at the Ciao Pasta restaurant at 133 Park St.

The first firefighters who arrived on the scene at 12:49 a.m. saw flames coming from the rear of the building and heavy smoke from the front. They immediately called for reinforcements, Timothy Joubert, deputy chief of the Tilton-Northfield Fire Department, said Monday.

Firefighters were unable to get into the rear of the building where the fire was most intense because of the extent of the damage that had already occurred by the time the first fire crews arrived. Mutual aid companies initially entered the front part of the one-story building, but had to evacuate when the fire spread, Joubert said.

It took fire crews two hours to bring the fire under control, Joubert said. It was extinguished by 6 a.m.

There were no injuries, the deputy said.

“The heaviest fire was in the kitchen area, but we can’t say if that’s the cause or not,” Joubert said.

The deputy said he went inside the burned-out building briefly Monday morning to conduct an investigation, but left soon afterward because the part of the roof that remained standing is “obviously structurally unsound,” Joubert explained.

He described the building as a total loss.

The restaurant had closed for the night at 9 p.m. Saturday and the last of the employees had left the building by 10 p.m. Joubert said the building is owned by Robert Kidder, of Franklin, while the restaurant is owned by Mike Hanley, of Plymouth. He said both the building and the business were insured.

Ciao Pasta has occupied the building since 2012. Besides the restaurant, the Northfield Sewer Commission had a small office in the building, Joubert said. In the past the building has housed, at different times, a hardware store, post office, law office, and a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant, according to Joubert.

Firefighters and equipment from Franklin, Belmont, Laconia, Sanbornton, and Concord, assisted Tilton-Northfield fire crews in battling the blaze. The Northfield Police Department also assisted at the scene. The Gilmanton and New Hampton fire departments provided station coverage.