Foam on Loon Cove had drifted over from Wolfeboro, where it was used to control house fire

ALTON — Firefighters working along side a boat from the N.H. Marine Patrol broke up two 100-square-foot patches of Class A firefighter foam from the Lake Winnipesaukee waters of Loon Cove yesterday morning.

Alton Capt. Mike Viscariello said the two agencies were called around 11 a.m. yesterday by someone who saw the foam.

He said they initially responded with booms to collect what was then an unknown substance. However, they determined the material was Class A firefighters foam that likely came from a multi-alarm house fire in Wolfeboro Thursday night.

He said after representatives from the N.H. Department of Environmental Services learned it was Class A foam, they told Alton firefighters and Marine Patrol to break it up with their boats as opposed to collecting it.

DES Spokesman Tim Drew said the foam was a Class A protein-based biodegradable foam and all it needed to do was dissipate.

Viscarello said that firefighter foam dispersed in an area the size of that portion of Lake Winnipesaukee would not cause any long-term damage but did want residents along the waterfront to know what it was and not to be worried.

According to Foster's Daily Democrat, the Wolfeboro fire started around 5 p.m. and was caused by a lightening strike to a tree that traveled into a nearby house.

The family was able to safely leave the home however one Tuftonboro firefighter was injured. He was treated at Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro and released.

Viscarello said the Wolfeboro fire was in a home that was on the lake and that likely the cause of the firefighter foam getting into Lake Winnipesaukee.

The Wolfboro fire was declared under control by 9 p.m.

CUTLINE: Alton resident Tony Parenti, left, helps Alton Fire Captain Mike Viscariello (right) untie the Alton Fire Boat as it goes to break up the foam in Lake Winnipesaukee. Parenti allowed the fire boat to use his dock for yesterday's operation. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Gail Ober)