No injuries in Gilford barn fire early Tuesday morning

GILFORD — There were no injuries in a barn fire early Tuesday morning, which required the help of firefighters from 13 Lakes Region communities to extinguish.

Firefighters arrived on scene at 300 Gunstock Hill Road, the property where Timber Hill Farm is located, at 12:07 a.m., just three minutes after a neighbor reported a barn fire to Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid and indicated there may be cattle and diesel storage tanks inside.

Nobody was injured as a result of the fire, according to a social media post by farm employees.

“Despite last night's tragic fire at the farm, we are happy to report that all humans and animals were unharmed. We assure [everyone] that our wedding event barn is standing as strong as ever. The fire was isolated to our lower barn which housed the farm's animals,” the post said. "Our event grounds and any scheduled events have not been affected by the fire. On behalf of the Howe family, we would like to express our gratitude for all of your support. All we need is love ... and maybe some sunshine.”

The two-story barn, with a footprint of 200-by-100-feet, was fully ablaze and the roof had partially collapsed when firefighters arrived and initiated a defensive attack, according to a press release from the Gilford Fire Department. 

First responders determined onsite that there were no cattle inside the barn.

Firefighters got water from dry fire hydrants on Gunstock Hill and Lily Pond roads. Fire departments from the mutual aid network provided additional support and helped to shuttle water between the hydrants and the scene.

The fire is not considered suspicious but remains under investigation, Gilford Deputy Chief Bradley Ober wrote in the press release.

“All mutual aid partners worked well and quickly extinguished this fire,” Ober said. “There were no injuries and the fire was contained to the original building.”

Timber Hill Farm organized a fundraiser Tuesday morning with a target of $45,000. To learn more, visit gofundme.com/f/please-help-timber-hill-farm-recover.