Fire on Spruce Street destroys home

LACONIA — A fire, thought to be sparked by an electrical wire, left a single family home on Spruce Street uninhabitable on Tuesday morning. A firefighter and one of the residents received minor injuries.

Firefighters responded to reports of a house fire on Spruce Street at around 3:30 a.m. By the time the fire was extinguished, the single family home’s garage was nothing more than a charred frame, and more than half of the roof was destroyed by flames.

“I smelled smoke in my house, which woke me up. I got up because I was going to investigate where the smoke smell was coming from,” said neighbor and witness Christina Boisvert, who explained that smokey smells aren't uncommon in the neighborhood, as small cooking fires are sometimes set by people camping in the woods nearby. "But it wasn’t that. That woke me up, I got out towards my kitchen area, and I saw the first truck come by my house.”

There were no deaths or major injuries. 

“My understanding is one of the resident’s hands got burned, and one of the firefighters got an electrical shock and got sent out to the hospital,” Boisvert said.

These injuries were confirmed by Fire Chief Kirk Beatie. According to a press release from the fire department, the fire started in the home’s two-stall garage from a shorted extension cord. The fire quickly consumed the garage, and spread to the attic, rendering the home uninhabitable and causing an estimated $200,000 in damage. 

As for the family that lived in the home, they are seeking privacy, and are currently being assisted by the American Red Cross.