The remains of a vacant home across from Alltown Market on Route 202 in Peterborough will have to be torn down after a fire Friday night.
Peterborough Fire Chief Ed Walker said the department received a call at approximately 10:45 p.m. Friday. Peterborough and Jaffrey firefighters were the first to arrive, and Walker said the fire was in the breezeway and the first floor of the two-story, 1,000-square-foot house. Given that firefighters did not know about the structural integrity of the building, they used fire hoses that could apply 500 to 1,000 gallons a minute, allowing them to knock the fire down quickly without sending anyone inside.
Firefighters from Hancock, Temple, Francestown, Dublin and Milford assisted, either at the scene or covering at the station, and Walker said the entire process took between two and 2 1/2 hours.
Because the building has been vacant for more than 10 years and there was no electricity, Walker said, “A human was involved in the fire somehow,” but with no video or witnesses, the department will probably never know who set it unless a witness comes forward.