Two cats were killed in a fire on Greenville Road in New Ipswich on Monday night. The four adults living in the home were displaced.
The home, located on 277 Greenville Road, is owned by Richard and Charmaine Gravel, who live there along with two other adults, their children, according to New Ipswich Deputy Fire Chief Gary Somero, who led the scene on Monday night.
The fire began in the crawlspace under the house, a double-wide modular-style home, and broke through the floor and a wall in one of the bedrooms.
At about 5:38 p.m., Somero said, the Gravels started to smell smoke, and saw fire start to come through the floor of the home. They evacuated, and all four were able to exit the home safely. Their two cats perished in the fire.
Somero said the fire appears to have been electrical, which is a common fire cause in the coldest months of the year.
“Everything is going 100 percent, and unfortunately, things like this happen,” he said.
Somero said the bedroom and closet in the area where the fire first broke through the floor got the most damage. The structure of the house is still intact, and while the fire didn’t spread to the rest of the home, there is significant smoke, heat and water damage.
“It’s very close to a total loss,” Somero said.
Somero said the fire didn’t spread due to the fast action of firefighters on the scene.
“They made a very quick interior attack,” he said. “It was a quick knock-down. A lot of the stuff inside is probably still salvageable.”
The New Ipswich Fire Department called out a second alarm on the fire, Somero said, mostly due to the need for manpower and the cold temperatures. Somero said the cold was a factor in fighting this fire, as the water from the hose froze on the ground and created icy conditions.
One firefighter injured his back slipping on the ice inside the home while moving a piece of furniture. He was taken to Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough, where he was treated and released Monday night, Somero said.
The American Red Cross responded to offer assistance to the Gravel family in securing housing.
New Ipswich was assisted on scene by Greenville, Jaffrey, Ashby, Peterborough, Temple and Rindge. Wilton and Milford crews covered the New Ipswich station. Fire crews had water access from a Greenville fire hydrant.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter@AshleySaariMLT.