By Matthew Spolar
The Concord Monitor
HOPKINTON, N.H. — Hopkinton fire Chief Rick Schaefer was first on the scene at a two-alarm fire yesterday on Pine Street in Contoocook: The blaze was across the street from his house.
“My pager went off and I literally drove across the street,” Schaefer said.
Knowing the family had pets, Schaefer kicked in the side and front doors but the fire was too intense to enter.
“It was clear there was nothing living in there,” he said.
Called in just after 4 p.m. by passers-by who saw smoke billowing from the eaves, the fire at 512 Pine St. was under control at 4:51, Schaefer said.
The single-story home, owned by Polito Lui, who said he lives there with his 15-year-old daughter, suffered “extreme smoke and water damage,” though the structure is still intact, Schaefer said.
No one was home at the time except for Lui’s two cats and one dog, which all died, Schaefer said.
The fire burned a hole in the floor so firefighters combated the blaze from the basement, which they entered through the garage, Schaefer said.
Schaefer said no one had been inside the house since 7:30 a.m. yesterday.
The cause of the fire had not been determined last night, but Schaefer said the bulk of the damage was near the woodstove in the living room.
“It’s hard anytime anyone loses their home, but it really stinks when it’s your neighbor,” Schaefer said.
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