No injuries when house fire displaces family of 5, 2 dogs

FRANKLIN — A house fire on Sanborn Street on Monday afternoon displaced a family of five, and their two dogs, but no injuries were reported.

Fire Chief Michael Foss said a call came in at 2:19 p.m. on May 4, about a fire in a carport, and Foss said while he didn’t see smoke from downtown, the wind was blowing it down Hunt Avenue, toward a nearby home.

“When I got here, I called a first alarm and established command,” Foss said, referring to calling for additional companies to come fight the fire. “I tried to do a walk around, but the flames were so heavy at that point, because of the wind fueling the fire, that I wasn’t able to get around the whole building. But we did get a report that they made it out of the building OK.”

An adult male was home with two dogs at the time of the fire. His wife was at work, and three children were at school. On Monday afternoon, the two adult property owners were sitting across the street from their home with their belongings, and declined to comment. American Red Cross is assisting the family in finding lodging, as the home is uninhabitable.

Just before 3:30 p.m., firefighters were spraying for hot spots inside the carport and an adjacent shed, which was also burned. It was visibly charred, with the backside completely open and the roof collapsed. The rest of the home did not appear to be damaged from the outside, but Foss said there was smoke, water and fire damage throughout.

“Between the smoke damage, and carcinogens, and the fire damage, structural issues, it will be uninhabitable for some time,” Foss said.

Franklin Fire and Police departments responded to the scene, along with Concord, Belmont, Bristol, Sanbornton and Tilton-Northfield fire companies, and Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid Association. Boscawen Fire and New Hampton Ambulance offered station coverage. State Police also responded to the scene.

A fire hydrant located on the sidewalk adjacent to the home made a solid water source for firefighters.

“Water supply wasn’t an issue at all,” Foss said.

Foss said there is natural gas in the area, but he believed it stopped before Woodrow Avenue, and did not cause an issue.

The fire was under control at about 3:20 p.m., but Foss said the carport was still unstable, and they were putting out hot spots into the afternoon.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Foss said there is no indication it was suspicious.

“I don’t know what originally started the fire, and it is under investigation at this point,” Foss said. “There is nothing that is a red flag at this point, but we’ll have to wait until the investigator is done.”

Foss said a house on Hunt Avenue was also evacuated, and there was a disabled person who lived there who was helped out of the home by city police.

“Everyone made it out of that home as well, but the smoke was starting to get bad,” he said.

The house is located just outside the entrance to Franklin Middle School, and firefighters and police had a section of Sanborn Street closed to through traffic. The fire did not impact the middle school, but it happened as school was letting out, causing traffic downtown.

“Franklin police notified the school district that there was a fire,” Foss said. “As soon as we were able to, we were able to reroute busses. Also, busses have a secondary access down by our community center, so they were able to drive up to the school.”