By The Union Leader Staff and Correspondents
ROCHESTER, N.H. — Two flood-related incidents almost turned tragic yesterday.
In Rochester, firefighters used a construction loader to rescue a teen clinging to a tree just above the Isinglass River off Rochester Neck Road, while a Newmarket man suffered a serious electrical shock while trying to set up a sump pump in his flooded basement, a fire official said.
Newmarket Fire Chief Rick Malasky said Brian Marshall was standing in about a foot of water in the basement of his Main Street home when he was shocked and suffered burns to one of his hands around 9:30 a.m. Malasky said he believes the shock occurred when the man had reached down to touch the sump pump.
Marshall was admitted to Exeter Hospital, although a spokesman for the hospital said his status was not immediately known.
Malasky warned residents to be extra careful when setting up sump pumps in a flooded basement, urging them to contact the fire department for assistance before attempting to set up a pump.
“If there’s a foot of water, sometimes you can’t see everything. You never know if there’s an electrical cord that you can’t see and sometimes things aren’t grounded properly,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to fire officials, a teenage boy in Rochester said he rode his bicycle into the Isinglass River shortly after noon, and had to cling to a tree to avoid being swept away by the swift waters.
Firefighters couldn’t walk out to the youth, who was about 100 yards from dry land, without fear of being swept away, said fire Capt. Dominick Bellio.
“The water was flowing at a massive amount,” Bellio said.
Dover Fire and Rescue was there, too, and tried to use the ladder on a fire truck to reach the teen, who was not identified, but it was too short.
Bellio said a third option was a Caterpillar 944 loader firefighters had to borrow from nearby Waste Management.
“It was a dangerous situation,” he said. “This situation warranted this type of rescue. We’re thinking of our safety first.”
One person drove the loader, which was far too heavy to be washed away, while three firefighters stood in the loader’s bucket carrying a small aluminum boat, Bellio said. Once they were close enough to the youth, they lowered the boat, which was attached to the bucket, into the water so it was close enough for him to get inside.
The teen was taken to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester for possible hypothermia.
Officials continued to keep a close eye on the state’s rising rivers throughout the day.
The National Weather Service had extended flood warnings for eight rivers, most located in Southern New Hampshire, that were set to expire sometime today.
Gov. John Lynch met with officials in Merrimack yesterday to discuss the fallout from the overnight flooding. The Souhegan River was expected to crest in Merrimack around 2 p.m., reaching 9.8 feet, about a foot above flood stage.
Earlier projections from the National Weather Service anticipated the Souhegan River could reach nearly 14 feet in that area.
Lynch told officials that things across the state seem to have stabilized.
“It could’ve been a lot worse, so we’re in relatively good shape,” he said.
Katya Brennan, spokesman at the state Office of Emergency Management, said there are about 75 roads still closed across New Hampshire, but the worst of the flooding appears to be over.
“Rivers are pretty much cresting now,” she said yesterday afternoon. “It’s gotten as bad as it’s going to get.”
For those who have had to leave their homes because of flooding, she said the state has opened seven emergency operations centers. They are in Amherst, Merrimack, Nashua, Wilton, Salem, Newmarket and Goffstown.
Although Manchester was one of the cities on watch, Public Works Director Kevin Sheppard said the city did not experience any major flooding.
“We know where there are issues. We check those areas before a storm to make sure they are clear,” said Sheppard. “We got a lot of rain, but thankfully it came over time instead of one deluge. We’ve been able to control it and monitor it.”
The Spicket River in Salem was expected to crest at around 9 feet, keeping officials on alert.
“Three times the Spicket River has risen to flood stage, and I don’t know if that that’s ever happened,” Salem Assistant Fire Chief Paul Parisi said. “It’s certainly not as high as it was during the Mother’s Day floods, but the recurring events with little time in between (hasn’t allowed) the ground to absorb the water and the rivers and streams to recede back to normal levels. We just really need a couple of weeks of dry weather to get things back to normal.”
About 10 roads remain closed in Salem, including Main Street near the fire department and Millville Street.
Driving on Route 28 was restricted to one lane of travel and officials were keeping a close eye on other trouble spots, like Haigh Avenue and Lawrence Road.
The Suncook River, which was expected to crest at just inches above flood stage, crept close to numerous homes and briefly caused Mount Delight Road in Allenstown to close overnight Tuesday.
Police Chief Shaun Mulholland said some yards in the Riverside Drive area also experienced minor flooding but nothing as bad as what occurred two weeks ago.
“We have dodged a bullet,” Mulholland said. “We finally have some good news this spring.”
Officials were also watching the Nashua River. It was expected to crest at 12.5 feet sometime overnight, pushing the river more than four feet above flood stage. Authorities were also monitoring the Merrimack River where it meets the Nashua River and farther upstream near Goffs Falls.
The waters were expected to rise a few inches above the flood stage, causing minor flooding in Hudson, Nashua, Goffstown, Merrimack and Litchfield.
The Lamprey River in Newmarket had risen four feet above flood stage by yesterday afternoon, and the National Weather Service does not expect it to fall below this mark until tomorrow morning.
Other rivers that had flood warnings include the Piscataquog River near Goffstown, the Contoocook River in Henniker, the Saco River in Conway and the Souhegan River in Merrimack, all of which had risen a few inches above flood stage.
Union Leader staff writer Beth Lamontagne Hall and Union Leader correspondents Chelsey Pollack, Dan O’Brien, Alec O’Meara, Jason Schreiber, Derrick Perkins and Clynton Namuo contributed to this story.
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