Quick action from firefighters and a passerby saved the home of Bettyann Kolb, but all she was worried about Friday were her cats.
Firefighters worked in a soot-soaked basement of the Emerson Hill Road home to determine what caused a fire Friday morning, as Kolb returned from trundling through the snow-covered woods to try and find the family’s newest addition: a less-than-1-year-old kitten named Carbon.
“We just got him fixed a week ago,” said Kolb of Carbon, who was named for his black fur.
Standing near a pile of charred insulation, Kolb held a carrier and reached through the door to pet Nala, a 7-year-old long-haired gray Persian cat that firefighters rescued, along with Kolb’s 16-year-old cat named Babykitty.
“I was at work, my daughter called me, I don’t know how she found out, she called my crying and said ‘Can you get home?’ And I said, ‘Why what’s wrong?’ and she said she heard there was smoke coming out of our house,” said Kolb, who works in the kitchen at MilliporeSigma in Jaffrey.
New Ipswich Deputy Fire Chief Gary Somero said the cause of the fire was unknown Friday. Attempts to reach officials from the department for further information on the cause were unsuccessful.
On Friday, Kolb said she planned on staying at her home.
Firefighters opened the windows and brought in industrial fans to try and alleviate the smell. A post on a GoFundMe page by Connie Fournier Morales indicated otherwise.
“They are currently staying at a local hotel as their home is uninhabitable until renovations and repairs can be completed,” said a message on the page, gofundme.com/3ejzs7pf.
The fire could have been worse if it wasn’t for Peterborough police officer David Bell, who was handling traffic detail for Asplundh (which was trimming trees near power lines in the area) when he heard a faint sound of an alarm, according to Peterborough and New Ipswich police. Bell then radioed New Ipswich authorities and went into the home to see if anyone was there.
Somero and three other New Ipswich firefighters were the first to respond and quickly extinguished the fire.
Kolb believes Carbon escaped during the initial response.