Seasonal lakefront home goes up in 3-alarm blaze

LACONIA — The Fire Department was continuing Monday to try and determine what may have caused a three-alarm fire that destroyed a seasonal lakeside residence early Saturday evening.

The fire leveled the single-story dwelling at 93 Eastman Shore Road South, on the shore of Lake Winnisquam.

The building, described in city records as a seasonal camp, was not occupied at the time of the fire, which was initially reported at about 6:15 p.m. Saturday.

The owner, Greg Gardner, of Bedford, Massachusetts, said Monday no one was staying at the place on Saturday. He said the water for the building had only recently been turned back on for the season.

Gardner, who bought the property five years ago, said he hopes to rebuild.

At the outset, the fire sent a plume of black smoke high into the air which could be seen for miles around.

The number of calls reporting the fire to the Lakes Region Mutual Aid dispatch center prompted a second alarm for additional firefighters and equipment even before the first firefighters arrived on the scene.

The fire eventually went to three alarms.

When the first firefighters arrived on the scene the house was fully ablaze and beginning to collapse, Beattie said, and the fire was extending to the brush around the house as well as a boat on a trailer.

Fire engines were used to shuttle water from the nearest fire hydrant at the corner of Elm Street and Parade Road, almost 3½ miles away.

There were no injuries reported. Beattie estimated the damage at $100,000, and deemed the building a total loss.

While the exact cause has yet to be determined, Beetle said the fire is not considered suspicious.

Mutual aid from Gilford, Belmont, Meredith, Holderness, and Tilton-Northfield Fire Departments assisted at the scene. Franklin, Barnstead, Center Harbor, and Meredith EMS provided coverage in the city.

Laconia Police, Laconia DPW and Eversource also assisted Laconia Fire at the scene.

It was the second multiple-alarm building fire in the city in three days. Last Wednesday a two-alarm fire damaged a duplex on Highland Street. An 89-year-old woman died as a result of smoke inhalation in that fire.