Quick reactions & hidden brick wall save historic home when fire starts

LACONIA — A 140 year-old home escaped serious damage from a two-alarm fire yesterday thanks to alert residents, vigorous response from fire personnel and a quirk of the building's construction.

John Swain said he and and his partner Carlos Cardona were at their 1487 Old North Main Street home yesterday at about mid-day when Cardona first realized their two story building was on fire. Cardona was in an upstairs bathroom when he noticed a shadow on the window. When he looked out to see what was casting the shadow, he realized that the apparition was smoke rising from a porch that wraps around the large house.

The exterior of the house underneath the porch was burning. After calling 9-1-1, Swain attempted to dowse the fire with buckets of water while Cardona began shuttling the couple's pets – two dogs and a bird – to a neighbor's home.

"I got most of the fire out," said Swain, by the time the firefighters arrived. He added, "they did a great job getting the fire out."

Deputy Chief Deb Pendergast said responding firefighters found fire on an exterior porch with extension into the home. To their surprise, firefighters tried to cut through the exterior wall, only to learn that the walls held a layer of brick underneath wooden clapboards. She said the brick slowed the spread of the fire enough so that firefighters could arrive with enough time to save the structure.

The fire had begun to fill one room up with smoke, Pendergast said. In that room was one of the dogs, hiding underneath a bed. Pendergast said a firefighter was able to rescue the dog, and all creatures escaped without harm.

The house, built in 1872, was once the home of the Laconia State School superintendent, Swain said, and at the time of its construction was the only home on the road.

Swain and Cardona moved in only a few months ago and have undertaken extensive renovations, especially to the exterior porches. The couple has also made an impression upon the neighborhood with their Christmas decorations, which one neighbor said "lit up like Times Square." Swain said they had spent $27,000 decorating their house for the season.

Pendergast said that although there were many decorations, including some on the porch where the fire broke out, a preliminary investigation found no indications that they were to blame for the fire. "There is nothing pointing to that right now," she said. Instead, fire investigators were eying a heater that vented onto the porch. A chair on the porch was positioned in front of the vent and could have caused the fire to ignite.

Cardona and Swain said the chair had been in the same position since they moved in. "We never knew it was a vent," Swain said.

Because damage was limited to the porch and exterior wall and a pair of interior rooms, Pendergast said the home remains habitable, a fact she credited to a healthy response from neighboring communities to the call for assistance. Departments from nearby as well as far away as Franklin and Tilton-Northfield responded to the second alarm.

"Manpower was awesome, we had a lot of people on scene," said Pendergast. "The guys really did a good stop."

Asked what it was like for them to experience the house fire, Swain simply said, "(stuff) happens." He added, "The fire department did a really good job."

CAPTION for NORTH MAIN FIRE HOUSE in AA

A fire broke out at a historic home on Old North Main Street in Laconia yesterday. The structure was saved thanks to alert actions of the residents as well as a hearty response by fire personnel. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)

CAPTION for NORTH MAIN FIRE PORCH in AA

Firefighters examine the condition of a porch roof, under which a fire had developed. (Laconia Daily Sun photo/Adam Drapcho)