Firefighters lead 2 to safety in fire at Messer St. apt. building

LACONIA — Two residents of a Messer Street apartment building were rescued by firefighters in a pre-dawn fire when they were unable to flee the building on their own because of the heavy smoke.

The one-alarm fire at 45 Messer St. was reported just before 5 a.m. Tuesday. A tenant on the first floor of the 6-unit apartment building was awakened by a sounding smoke detector. The tenant felt the apartment door and noticed it was hot, called 9-1-1 and began alerting others living in the 2½ story building.

A Fire Department ambulance crew that had brought a medical aid patient to Lakes Region General Hospital just a short time before was on the scene within minutes.

The first firefighters on the scene located fire in a second-floor n apartment on the second floor which was under renovation. Heavy smoke, coming from under the door, created zero visibility in the second-floor hallway and stairwell, according to the Laconia Fire Department.

Two people living in an adjoining apartment were unable to escape on their own. Firefighters were able to assist them through thick smoke to safety. Both were transported to Lakes Region General Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. They were released within a couple of hours, the Fire Department said.

The fire was quickly extinguished. It did not extend into other parts of the building. The apartment, and hallway suffered significant smoke damage and the apartment below the fire room suffered some water damage, according to a Fire Department statement released to the media.

All residents were eventually allowed to return to their apartments.

The fire appears to have started accidentally.

“We’re working to narrow it down between a couple of different reasons,” Fire Chief Kirk Beattie said Wednesday of the effort to pinpoint the cause.

The fire caused an estimated $50,000 in damage, Beattie said.

The Laconia Fire Department is leading the investigation, with the state Fire Marshal’s Office offering assistance.

“Working smoke detectors and early notification to the fire department was crucial to this fire being extinguished quickly, limiting damage, and allowing us to make sure everyone evacuated safely,” Beattie said.

The Laconia Fire Department was assisted at the scene by Laconia Police, Gilford and Belmont Fire Departments, Meredith EMS, and the state Fire Marshal’s Office. Meredith and Tilton-Northfield Fire Departments provided station coverage in the city.

This marked the third multi-alarm fire in the city in less than a week. A two-alarm fire last Wednesday claimed the live of an 89-year-old woman and caused considerable damage to a Highland Street duplex. On Saturday a three-alarm fire destroyed a seasonal lakefront residence on Eastman Shore Road South.