More than 2 dozen homeless after fire in 15-unit apt. building

LACONIA — More than two dozen people are being assisted after being displaced by a two-alarm fire which damaged their apartment building on Sunday.

Some 27 people, including 10 children, were being assisted by the Red Cross on Tuesday, according to Mary Brant, the communications manager for the agency’s Northern New England Region.

The investigation into the fire was continuing Tuesday. But Fire Chief Kirk Beattie said the fire appears to have started accidentally and what investigators have learned so far “points to it being electrical in nature.”

The fire occurred shortly after 11 p.m. on Sunday in the three-story building at 178-180 Union Ave.

When the first firefighters arrived on the scene flames were coming from a second-floor apartment into the hallway.

He said crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly because of alert residents who called 9-1-1 and the number of fire personnel who were on duty.

“We got called early, and we had extra staffing because of the Memorial Day weekend, so we were really able to prevent the damage from spreading,” Beattie said.

The only injury reported was suffered by an adult occupant who was overcome by smoke and was treated at the scene, the chief said.

The building contains 15 apartments, the chief said. The units are situated in the basement and the three upper floors of the 8,900-square-foot building, according to city records.

Brant said that the residents who were displaced had all received comfort kits containing personal hygiene items and a blanket. She was unable to immediately provide information about how many people needed emergency shelter as opposed to those who were able to stay temporarily with family members or friends. Red Cross relief workers were still collecting information, she said.

Beattie put the estimate of damage caused by the fire at $60,000. He said the fire damage was limited to the one apartment and the adjoining hallway, but that other units had suffered smoke damage.

As of Tuesday, the building remained uninhabitable, in part because both the electrical and gas service had been turned off, and the fire alarm system needed to be reactivated, the chief said.

The building’s smoke alarms were working at the time of the fire, he added.

The 130-year-old building is assessed for $969,000, according to city records. It is owned by Harry and Tina Bean of Gilford.