[Slickcraft]

Today's Citizen
http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll...941/-1/CITIZEN

Woman burned in house fire
Gilford:

By BEA LEWIS
blcitizen85@gmail.com
bwheel@metrocast.net
Friday, November 5, 2010


The lone female occupant of this home at 72 Varney Point Road suffered non-life-threatening burns in a fire that broke out shortly before noon on Thursday. Authorities are looking at a candle as the cause of the blaze which they said was accidental.


Authorities are eyeing a candle as the probable cause of a fire that gutted a Gilford home shortly after noontime on Thursday.

The lone female occupant of the house at 72 Varney Point Road suffered non-life-threatening burns, according to Gilford Fire Chief John Beland.

Men and equipment from seven area towns were called to the scene when initial reports had the fire occurring at Fay's Boat Yard Inc. The house that burned was located across Varney Point Road from the boat yard.

"I think we had our bases covered," Beland said of the mutual aid response.

The chief said he called for a first alarm after Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid Dispatch said it had fielded three or four calls reporting the fire. Spotting a column of heavy, black smoke as he was pulling out of the station, Beland called for a second alarm. When firefighters arrived, the house was engulfed in flames, resulting in a third alarm being sounded because of the potential exposure to the nearby boat yard, including dozens of stored fiberglass boats wrapped in protective plastic for the winter.

Beland said department members initially focused their attention on providing medical care to the burn victim before mounting a defensive attack on the fire which they quickly knocked down using water from a nearby dry hydrant at Fay's Boat Yard. The hydrant draws water from Saunders Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Beland said the initial investigation leads him to believe the fire was sparked by a candle that toppled over, igniting combustible materials.

Gilford Fire Rescue Ambulance took the injured woman, whom Beland did not identify, to Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia for treatment of her burns. She later was transferred by ambulance to Mass General.

"It appears to be accidental and is not a suspicious fire at this point," Beland said.

The house, approximately 35 feet by 25 feet in size, was a single-story, wood-frame structure with a flat roof and it overlooked the lake. Authorities estimated the value of the home to be $125,000.

A second home within close proximity of the burning building sustained heat damage.

Assisting Gilford Fire Rescue units at the scene were companies from Laconia, Belmont, Tilton-Northfield, Alton, Meredith, Sanbornton and Franklin, while Gilmanton provided station coverage.

About 3 p.m., while Gilford units were still overhauling the scene at 72 Varney Point Road, a first-alarm structure fire was reported on Woodland Avenue. Arriving firefighters found an occupied, single-family home filled with smoke.

An investigation quickly revealed a fire in the basement that had been extinguished by the homeowner. In quelling the fire, the homeowner suffered significant burns to her hands and Gilford Fire Rescue Ambulance took her to LRGH for treatment.

Beland said a smoke detector alerted the homeowner to the fire.

A second occupant was treated at the scene for smoke exposure and released.

The home sustained smoke damage but no structural damage from the fire or water.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.