State fire officials say three youths have been identified in connection with the blaze Wednesday that leveled an abandoned chicken coop and emitted a tower of smoke visible for miles.
As a result of a joint investigation between Jaffrey fire and police and the state fire marshal, the Jaffrey youths were identified as having been involved in the fire. They are cooperating with authorities, officials said. The investigation is continuing.
“Anytime you believe a youth has been involved in fire-setting behavior, the reason must be identified by a trained professional,” Deputy State Chief Fire Marshal Keith Rodenhiser said. “Even curiosity fire-setting by young children needs to be taken seriously.”
Firefighters responded to 398 Nutting Road at 7:58 p.m. Wednesday.
The 180-by-60 foot structure was completely burnt down, and nearby houses evacuated. The scene was still active on Thursday, July 14, as firefighters remained to control hot spots.
The building was on land owned by Archie Coll. The building was unoccupied, but served as storage space for Josh Coll and Krystal Krug.
Among the contents stored in the outbuilding was multiple vehicles, professional equipment belonging to Josh and Archie Coll, and seasonal toys for Josh’s son.
“I felt so bad because they literally had all of their belongings in there except the clothes on their backs,” friend of the family Holly Charlonne said.
Charlonne, whose daughter is going to be in the wedding party when Coll and Krug get married next month, set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for the damage.
The page summary says, “Josh and Krystal … now have the heartache and burden of dealing with this loss and major financial blow, when this should be a happy and exciting time in their lives.”
Charlonne set the goal at $5,000, acknowledging the vehicles and other valuable items lost in the fire. “I just know this was a lot that is going to cost a lot of money,” she said.
The recovery is a bona fide community effort, and the fire was a community event of sorts. Streets and hills around the site were littered with pedestrians and on-lookers checking out the scene and shooting video with their phones.
Brandon Latham can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 228 or blatham@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @blathamMLT.