Main Street Fire Update

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — A recent fire on Main Street in Claremont destroyed two structures. The cause of the fire is still under investigation with the New Hampshire Fire Marshal Division of Fire Safety. Both the home and garage are considered a total loss.

According to a press release, at roughly 9:30pm on August 3, 2022, the Claremont Fire Department dispatch received a call regarding a house fire. First responders on the scene observed a “large volume of fire” emanating from the two structures. The main structure, a two and a half story wood frame building, along with a detached garage, had been engulfed in a blaze.

In response, a 1st Alarm was sounded, calling in all fire fighters with the Claremont Fire Department. The city also received help from mutual aid fire companies. According to Fire Chief Brian Burr, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department was instrumental in aiding the Fire Department on the night of the fire. The Sheriff’s Department was able to deploy their newly purchased drone that houses an infrared camera, and with it, were able to take still photographs and aerial shots of the fire to help determine where the fire had started.

With significant aid from the Fire Department’s 110 foot ladder truck high flow water pipe, the majority of the fire was snuffed out. Attacking the fire from two separate locations, on both Sullivan and Main Streets, crews utilized high flow hand-lines to help extinguish the fire. The fire took several hours to completely extinguish, but firefighters were able to get the flame under control around 10:20pm.

According to online publications, the building, built in 1880, sold in 2016 for $70,000. According to Claremont’s online assessment database, the property is owned by Whiphill LLC, and has an appraisal value of $42,400 from 2022.

“This was a long time vacant property. To our knowledge no one had been staying there and luckily there were no injuries sustained,” said Burr.

A representative for the New Hampshire Fire Marshal’s Office acknowledged that the main structure of the building had been completely charred. Due to the level of damage of the building, fire marshals have had difficulty entering the building for fear of collapse. The cause of the fire is still under investigation and a number of hypotheses have been created.

Unfortunately for investigators, there are a number of nearby, working security cameras but none that show the building. The building also had been significantly obscured due to overgrowth after a number of years of unuse. According to the owners of the property, 40 Main Street did not have electricity running to the building.