Family displaced by fire at Blueberry Lane apt.

LACONIA — A family of four has been left temporarily homeless after their apartment was heavily damaged in a fire Monday.

The one-alarm fire at the Wingate Village apartment complex at 103 Blueberry Lane was reported shortly after 10:30 a.m. Monday, when one of the apartment’s occupants as well as people living in the adjoining units called 9-1-1, Laconia Fire Chief Kirk Beattie said Tuesday.

Callers reported seeing flames shooting from a window in the apartment, as personnel and equipment from the Laconia Fire Department, as well as units from the Gilford and Belmont fire departments, rushed to the scene.

The fire was in the middle unit of a six-unit, two-story apartment building in the 100-unit complex.

The first firefighters to arrive on the scene were able to quickly extinguish the fire in the living room, which was heavily damaged. The other rooms in the unit received smoke and water damage, Beattie said. The amount of damage to the apartment and its contents was estimated at $50,000, he said.

The chief said the investigation is continuing, but said the cause appears to be accidental.

“There may have been some electrical issues, and disposal of smoking materials, but I’m not sure we are going to be able to pinpoint a cause,” Beattie said.

The occupants of the burning apartment, as well as those in the adjoining units had all fled the building by the time firefighters arrived on the scene. A resident of one of the adjoining apartments was transported to Lakes Region General Hospital by Stewart’s Ambulance, after complaining of difficulty breathing.

Two adults and two teenage children lived in the apartment where the fire occurred, although only the adults were home at the time. The Red Cross is assisting the family, Beattie said.

Some firefighters remained on the scene until 12:30 p.m. The occupants of the other five units in the building were allowed to return to their apartments.