Moultonborough home could be total loss after fire

MOULTONBOROUGH — A home was damaged, although no people or pets were hurt, after a large fire on Hanson Drive on Oct. 19. By Friday, Moultonborough fire officials were still unsure, pending insurance details and an investigation by the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office, if the home would be considered a total loss.

“They’re still working on” the cause, Lt. James Frangelli of the Moultonborough Fire Department said via phone. “The state fire marshal is investigating at this time. The house is not a total loss from my understanding right now.”

There were no injuries.

Firefighters were called for a reported house fire on Hanson Drive at 2:19 p.m. on Oct. 19. The caller stated smoke was coming from the roof of the home. The first responding Moultonborough firefighter called for backup.

Through the mutual aid assignments through Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid, Center Harbor and Sandwich were also called to the scene, with Center Harbor’s engine 3 arriving first. Firefighters saw flames exposed through the roof. With Moultonborough’s engine arriving on scene just in time to lend aid, the two companies began an attack.

“We initiated an aggressive interior attack to get to the second floor to get to the attic,” Frangelli said.

Efforts to fight the flames, hot spots and securing the scene took about four hours.

“Crews returned out of service to get the hose repacked and refill tanks,” he said.

On Facebook, the Center Harbor Fire Department was quick to reinforce the importance of mutual aid.

“This incident proves the value of our commitment to providing the highest level of service to our Town and the surrounding communities through station staffing and automatic mutual aid agreements. These factors were instrumental in rapidly getting the right resources to this fire and limiting the severity of the situation,” the post reads.

“Our duty crew responded immediately and was supplemented by 7 additional Center Harbor call firefighters who came from home or their workplaces to help our neighbors, bringing a total of 3 pieces of apparatus to this scene. We will continue to work both within our department and with our incredibly valuable mutual aid partners to always be ready for the next emergency in the most cost-effective manner possible.”