In the early morning hours of Thursday, a possible lightning strike started a fire in the barn and spread to the house at Hilltop Wagyu in Mason, where five people were sleeping.
Crews responded to the fire at about 1:20 a.m., and ultimately called for a third alarm. Firefighters remained on the scene into Thursday morning.
The residents of the house, three adults, two children and two house cats, were able to escape the house, according to social media posted by one of the residents of the house, Nate Choquette. As of early Thursday morning, the status of two barn cats was still unknown. Sightings of at least one of the barn cats had been reported by Monday.
The house, located on 42 Valley Road, is the home of New England Wagyu at Hilltop Farm, part of an operation of raising pure Wagyu beef cattle. The property is owned by Sam Rowse and Diana Templeton, but they do not live at the farm. Farmers Hunter Weston and Nate Choquette, Choquette’s partner Jolie O’Brien, and Choquette’s two children were home at the time of the fire.
According to a GoFundMe page started in support of Choquette, O’Brien and Weston, during the early morning hours of Thursday, July 2, Choquette’s 5-year-old son was awakened by a loud bang and went to his father’s room to sleep. As they were settling back to sleep, Choquette heard a loud, whistling sound, which was the barn attached to the house being engulfed in flames.
In an interview with the Ledger-Transcript on Monday, Choquette described the sound as “like a jet engine outside the window.”
“Just a wicked loud, white noise. It was not normal, whatever was going on,” Choquette said.
Getting up to see what the noise was, he said the first thing he saw was a fire truck, already on scene and spraying water. Choquette later learned that neighbors Katie and Greg Pugliese had heard a loud noise, and while checking on their daughter, Katie Pugliese had seen the reflection of flames on the Mason Town Hall and called 911.
“Thank God for them,” Choquette said.
Choquette said the minutes that followed were “a parent’s worst nightmare.” He yelled to O’Brien to exit the house with his son, and retrieved his daughter from her bedroom before exiting the house.
“As soon as we walked out the front door, it was so hot, it hit you like a wall,” Choquette said.
Choquette, O’Brien and Choquette’s children exited the house, and O’Brien re-entered to awaken Weston and to locate the two house cats, according to the GoFundMe. By the time she re-entered, the flames had spread to the kitchen.
The occupants believe the bang heard was lightning striking the barn.
The barn was destroyed and the main house heavily damaged. In addition to the damage to personal belongings, Weston’s truck was also destroyed. Choquette said the occupants have been able to salvage some personal belongings, but much was destroyed by smoke or water damage.
Choquette expressed thanks to the community, many of whom have reached out to him since the fire, asking how they can help.
“It’s nice to know how many people, especially customers, have reached out. It’s really overwhelming to know people are so kind when they need to be, and when it’s needed most,” Choquette said.
The Wagyu steers were not in the barn at the time of the fire, but some did escape their enclosure in the panic. As of Monday morning, Templeton reported on the Mason, NH Community Facebook page that nine steers were still in the surrounding woods and was seeking community assistance in rounding them up.
The GoFundMe in support of Choquette, Weston and O’Brien is available at tinyurl.com/Hilltop-Fire.