Fire Marshal says fire didn't kill Northfield man

NORTHFIELD — A man whose body was found in a burned-out garage did not die as a result of the fire, the state Fire Marshal reported Monday.

The dead man was identified as Kenneth Gorrell, 56, of Northfield, according to a media release issued Monday afternoon by the Fire Marshal’s Office.

“The cause of his death was not related to the fire,” the release stated.

Gorrell’s body was found when firefighters went to 354 Shaker Road at about 4 a.m. Saturday to put out a fire in a detached garage on the property.

Gorrell’s address was 354 Shaker Road — the same address as the fire — according to the background check website BeenVerified.com.

The cause of the fire was still undetermined as of Monday afternoon, according to Shana Clark, a fire investigator with the Fire Marshal’s Office. She declined to elaborate.

When firefighters arrived on the scene the garage was ablaze. Gorrell’s body was found inside the building after the fire had been put out. There were no other injuries, officials reported.

Further questions about Gorrell’s death were referred to Northfield Police Chief John Raffaelly. A call to Raffaelly was not returned as of mid-afternoon Monday.

Gorrell had been involved in local government. He was a former member of the Northfield Zoning Board of Adjustment. He also had served on the Winnisquam School District Budget Committee, and for a time was its chairman.

He was also a frequent contributor of letters to the editor, and longer opinion pieces — often on the subject of public education — which appeared in area publications, including The Laconia Daily Sun, and the Weirs Times.

– Michael Mortensen