Neighbor sounds alarm; Gov. Island fire nipped in bud

GILFORD — Fire officials say the improper use of a fire pit caused the deck on a lakefront home to catch fire, and if it had not been for a neighbor who alerted the home’s occupants the fire could have spread to the house itself.

Fire Chief Steve Carrier said the fire was caused by a 2-foot diameter metal fire pit which was sitting on the deck just feet from the house at 4 Broadview Terrace on Governors Island. The chief said the fire was either started by the radiant heat or from a spark that shot out of the pit.

Carrier said a neighbor was out for a walk around 4 a.m. on the cul de sac, smelled smoke, went up the house, knocked on the door, and woke the occupants.

The chief said 11 people — four adults and seven children — were asleep in the house at the time.

“Everyone is grateful that the neighbor was awake and noticed the fire. Early warning and notification was huge in this case,” Carrier said. “The fire would have been much more advanced if there was any more of a delay.”

Carrier said one of the home’s occupants was already putting out the fire with a garden hose when the first firefighters from the Laconia Fire Department’s Weirs Beach Station arrived at the scene at 4:24 a.m. Tuesday. Firefighters from Gilford and Laconia had the fire under control about 20 minutes later, Carrier said. Fire crews ripped up a section of the deck to ensure that any hot spots were extinguished.

The chief said that the use of the wood-burning fire pit required a burn permit under state law. The law mandates the pit should have been at least 25 feet away from the deck.

He said that the fire pit burned through the deck itself and dropped onto the ground below.

One of the home’s owners was issued an official warning, Carrier said.

He said he was told one of the occupants put water on the fire before retiring for the night at about midnight.

Damage to the deck was estimated to be at least $20,000, but there was no damage to the house itself, Carrier said.