Local News

Busy week for FD includes suspicious camper fire 

By BOB MARTIN 

Eagle Times Staff 

CLAREMONT, N.H. — An abandoned camper on Half Mile Road in Claremont was destroyed in a fire on Friday night, and Fire Chief Jim Chamberlain said since there was no working electricity and nobody living in the camper, it is being deemed suspicious in nature. 

“There was no power to the vehicle and nobody living in it, but the fire started as a result of something, and given the facts, we’re seeing it as suspicious,” Chamberlain said. “Anyone who may have information on how the fire started can give us or the police department a call.” 

According to a release by the Claremont Fire Department, firefighters and police responded to a smoke investigation near Half Mile Road at 10:51 p.m.  

“Crew on Engine 3 arrived to find a fully involved camper fire that was approximately 15 feet by 8 feet in size,” the report stated. “Crew used the front one-and-three-quarters jump line to extinguish the fire and had Engine 4 respond for more personnel. Crew overhauled the camper as to be sure of complete extinguishment and then cleared.” 

Police Chief Brent Wilmot said that this camper, which has been the subject of graffiti vandalism and has been abandoned for an extended period of time, has been a subject of conversation between the department and the city about removing it from the area. He said the department identified the owner of the camper, but it is not believed that they’re in connection with the fire.  

“We’re working to identify the person who abandoned the camper and removed it from the area before it burned,” he said. “People had gone by and spray-painted graffiti on it, so certainly the fire is suspicious. But presently we don’t have any list of suspects.” 

Chamberlain said that investigators in his department, as well as the Claremont Police Department, will be leading the investigation. The Fire Marshal’s office will not be involved, and the investigation will remain “in house,” Chamberlain said. 

“Right now, we do not have any leads, and due to the condition of the camper, we were not able to determine any sort of cause,” Chamberlain said. “The camper has been on Chief Wilmot and the Claremont Police Department’s radar for a while, so we are collaborating with them and will keep it with us unless we get information that dictates otherwise.” 

This is the second camper that burned in one week, as a Punkershire Ave residence with a camper parked near the home was completely lost to a fire on Wednesday. Firefighters were not able to save the camper, but they did stop flames from extending into the residence that was only several feet away. Officials said the fire was not deemed suspicious. 

The incident involving the Half Mile Road camper burning is still under investigation by the Claremont Fire Department and Claremont Police Department.  

Anyone with information about the fires is asked to call Lt. Bill Hardy at the Claremont Fire Department at 603-542-5156. 

The Claremont Fire Department has been busy helping other departments, as well, starting with a four-alarm apartment fire in Lebanon. This fire involved three people stranded on the roof who were in immediate danger, but they were promptly brought to safety by members of the Lebanon Police Department. 

Fire departments from Claremont, New London, Hanover, Hartford, Enfield, Canaan, Plainfield, Woodstock, Hartland, Windsor, Lyme and Grantham assisted. Also assisting was the Lebanon Police and Public Works Departments. 

Chamberlain said with the cold weather, he spoke with their chief who said it was important to have enough personnel and resources on site. The Claremont Fire Department assisted in overhaul operations and allowed firefighters to be properly rested to transition in and out when fighting the blaze. 

“The crews went up to Lebanon for an incident, and we brought our ladder up there to assist their department with that mitigation effort,” Chamberlain said. “This was the first time in my career that I can recall going up to Lebanon for an incident.” 

The Claremont Fire Department also sent crews to West Weathersfield, Vermont, where they brought the ladder truck for a working fire.  

According to information from the West Weathersfield Fire Department, on Saturday at 11:59 p.m. the West Weathersfield Fire Department was dispatched to Reservoir Road for a structure fire. It was upgraded to a second alarm, and multiple agencies were there to assist, with Claremont arriving at 12:17 p.m. 

“We assisted them with fire extinguishment and additional personnel,” Chamberlain said.