Fire on Shagri-La Drive in Moultonborough

MOULTONBOROUGH — A homeowner investigating a strange sound on Wednesday morning made an alarming discovery.

“The homeowner heard a noise, was trying to figure out what the noise was, she observed the garage was on fire,” said Moultonborough Fire Chief David Bengtson.

The first emergency calls for a fire at 21 Shangri-La Drive came in at 6:45 a.m., and by the time firefighters arrived, the garage was already fully involved and beginning to collapse onto itself, Bengtson said. The two-car garage with workshop was separated from the house by about 15 feet, and fire had already spread to the main residence.

Bengtson said crews were able to knock down the fire on the exterior of the home, then went inside to see that it had started to spread into the “roof-space” of the home.

“It had already broken out the windows on that side, it wasn’t long until it would have gotten the interior of the house going,” Bengtson said. “The house was definitely saved, (but) it has some significant damage to exterior, siding, walls and ceiling are going to have to be replaced, but it’s certainly repairable. I would expect they’ll be back in the house within a month or so.”

The garage, on the other hand, was a total loss. So were its contents, which included a full-size pickup, an SUV, a tractor, and a low-mileage 1978 Corvette. A camper, which was parked near the garage, was also destroyed.

Bengtson said that two firefighters were treated on the scene for what he called “heat-related issues.”

The garage had electrical service as well as heat. Bengtson said he couldn’t pinpoint how the fire started.

“It’s still under investigation. In the garage there are multiple sources of ignition, at this time I have no idea what caused the fire,” he said.