BRISTOL — An early-morning fire on Sept. 4 at 50 Beech Street, which spread to the adjacent apartment building at 40 Beech Street, forced two dozen people to seek alternative shelter, but Fire Chief Ben LaRoche said everyone was able to get out of the buildings unharmed.
Two cats apparently perished in the fire, which started in the rear portion of the 50 Beech Street property shortly before 5 a.m. There were five apartments in each of the two buildings, according to LaRoche.
The nearby United Church of Christ opened its doors to the displaced tenants, and volunteers from the American Red Cross set up an emergency intake center there to determine whether they had an alternative place to stay and what their food and clothing needs might be.
The Newfound Area Senior Center, which operates out of the church and provides a senior meal on Tuesdays, opened an hour early to serve the tenants a hot meal.
LaRoche said the fire department received a call about the fire at about 4:50 a.m. By the time firefighters arrived, the three-story wood-frame building was fully involved, with the fire extending from the rear of that building into the rear of the 40 Beech Street building. The first building was a total loss, but firefighters were able to keep the fire from spreading through the second building, also a three-story wood-frame building. However, LaRoche said that building also probably would be uninhabitable due to smoke damage.
There was one disabled resident who needed assistance in getting out, he said.
Because of the size of the blaze, firefighters called second and third alarms to augment the water supply from hydrants with tankers pumping water from the nearby Newfound River. Central Square was shut down for a while to give the trucks space to maneuver. Soon after, a fourth alarm was called to bring in additional personnel.
One firefighter was treated for exhaustion, but they had the fire under control around 7 a.m., with crews remaining on the scene through the morning to continue hosing down hot spots.
The State Fire Marshal arrived to help determine the cause of the fire which apparently started in the rear portion of the 50 Beech Street property. LaRoche said that neither building had sprinklers and he thought it was smoke alarms that alerted the tenants of the fire.
James Basford Jr. is the owner of the worst-damaged building, at 50 Beech Street. His address is listed on town records as 50-B Beech Street. The building was built around 1900 and has an assessed value of $149,500.
The 40 Beech Street property is owned by Peff Corp of North Andover, Massachusetts. Philip Petschek of Hebron is the registered agent for the property, which also dates to 1900 and has an assessed value of $190,600.
Attempts to reach the landlords for further information were unsuccessful.
Lloyd Ziel, communications officer for the American Red Cross of New Hampshire, said volunteers from across the Lakes Region and across the state — including from as far away as Berlin and Portsmouth — took down information about food and clothing needs, as well as whether the displaced tenants had a place to stay. The Red Cross provided preloaded credit cards to the tenants so they could take care of their immediate needs.
“The Red Cross works because of volunteers who were able to scramble and get there, but there is a need for volunteers all the time,” Ziel said, noting that people can sign up as volunteers by going to redcross.org.
Gail Shaw of the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council, which operates the Newfound Area Senior Center, credited cook Valerie Cilley and her sister, Leann, who volunteers in the kitchen, for opening up the congregate meal to the displaced tenants.
Shaw said that, despite their losses, the people seemed to be in good spirits, which could be credited to the support they received from the community.
