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Frozen hydrant hampers effort to douse NH fire

When crews discovered hydrant closest to fire was frozen, used a hydrant several hundred feet away

By Greg Kwasnik
The Union Leader

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — Efforts to extinguish a Thursday evening blaze that injured a firefighter and caused $30,000 in damage were hampered by a frozen fire hydrant, officials said.

Firefighters responded to the house fire at 9:59 Thursday evening after a passing motorist spotted flames coming from the 454 Elm St. structure.

Initial firefighting efforts were hampered when crews discovered that the hydrant closest to the fire was frozen. Firefighters were able to use a hydrant several hundred feet away.

Fighting the cold weather and racing against an impending snowstorm, crews from Goffstown, Manchester and Bedford were able to confine the blaze to the home’s attic and several adjacent rooms. One firefighter was injured by a timber that fell from the home’s chimney. That firefighter was treated on scene.

Though Thursday’s fire is still under investigation, officials said it likely started near the house’s chimney.

“We don’t know the specific cause,” said Lt. Bill Connor, Goffstown’s fire prevention officer. “We’ve narrowed it down to the area of a wood stove and chimney installation.”

The house sustained $30,000 in damages, including extensive water and smoke damage.

“The end wall of the house is significantly damaged, so basically the exterior of the house is burned, and some of the framing of that in-wall is burned, and there’s damage to some of the electrical wiring in that space,” Connor said.

The Red Cross is assisting the home’s occupants with temporary living accommodations. Online property records list the homeowners as Robert and Laurel Sinclair.

Connor said the home should be habitable again with a bit of work.

“With some minor repairs, they should be able to get back in there fairly soon,” Connor said.

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