By Jordan J. Phelan
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CLAREMONT — A man was found dead on Thursday after an early morning mobile home fire in Claremont.
Members of the Claremont Fire and Police Departments were called to the property of 21 Dennison Ave. at approximately 4:11 a.m. for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival, a mobile home was found to be heavily involved in the fire. After the fire was extinguished, a deceased male was located inside the structure, according to a press release.
On Thursday afternoon, the New Hampshire Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 58-year-old Francis Viola Jr. of Claremont and has ruled the cause of death to be accidental due to thermal and inhalation injuries.
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation but the fire appears to have started in the kitchen area of the mobile home, according to fire officials.
Cornish, Newport and Ascutney, Vermont, Fire Departments also assisted with mutual aid response.
The Claremont Fire Department has a residential smoke alarm program to install at no charge alarms in owner occupied residential homes within the city. Please contact the fire prevention bureau at 542-7012 to make arrangements.
Any further inquiries can be directed to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office Bureau of Investigations Investigator Anthony Booth or District Chief Adam Fanjoy at (603) 223-4289.
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