One person is dead and another is in serious condition following a house fire Wednesday morning on Burns Hill Road, officials said.
At 9:08 a.m. on March 4, the Wilton Fire Department responded to a report of a home filling with smoke. Upon arrival, firefighters found a single-family residence actively burning and learned that two residents were still inside on the second floor.
Firefighters entered the home and carried both occupants outside. The residents, an adult man and an adult woman, were taken to Elliot Hospital with significant smoke inhalation. The woman was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Her name is being withheld pending an autopsy at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The man remains hospitalized in serious condition. His identity has not been released due to the ongoing investigation.
The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire. While the investigation remains active, officials said they are examining whether a power outage in the area at the time may have been a contributing factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
Wilton police and fire personnel are assisting at the scene, along with mutual aid from fire departments in Lyndeborough, Milford, Mont Vernon, Greenville, Temple, New Ipswich and Peterborough. The Souhegan Mutual Aid Coordinator and Wilton Ambulance also responded. No first responders were injured.
Burns Hill Road remained closed to all traffic through the afternoon.
The road closure affected Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School’s early release and student pick-up schedule.
According to Wilton Police Chief John Frechette, Wilton Police and Fire had initially been dispatched to the school for a broken power line that had caused an electrical outage when Frechette received a report of a nearby house fire.
“A tree branch fell and broke the power line, causing a power outage at the school,” he said. “I heard about the fire and made my way over to find a pretty roaring fire.”
The downed power line also prompted the school’s early release. Because multiple fire hoses crossed Burns Hill Road, students boarded buses at the bottom of the hill rather than in front of the school.
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office at 603-223-4289 or fmo@dos.nh.gov.
No additional information was immediately available.