Laconia arsons believed to be linked
Fire destroys marina storage garage
UPDATED 1:39 PM EDT May 29, 2012
Same person believed responsible for Laconia fires
LACONIA, N.H. -
Investigators said a fire that destroyed a storage garage at a Laconia marina Monday was intentionally set, and they said it wasn't the first arson in town that day.
Paugus Bay Marina
Police said they have identified a person of interest in the case, but there have been no arrests.
Fire Chief Kenneth Erickson said the fire at Paugus Bay Marina had the potential to damage millions of dollars' worth of boats. Marina owner Kevin Keenan said he was lucky the fire didn't spread beyond the garage.
"No boats were damaged," he said. "The fire was contained to this building, and it could have very easily caught some boats on fire. Who knows where that would have gone?"
The fire at the marina was reported just before 3 p.m. Monday. Forty-five minutes earlier, firefighters were fighting a fire in some woods behind Moulton Street, about a half mile from the marina.
"This fire was started in the woods behind the building," Erickson said. "The back wall of this old building was made out of old asphalt shingles, and once it came up through the woods to the asphalt shingles, it ripped up through the back of the building."
Erickson said the fire in the Moulton Street area was also intentionally set, and investigators believe the same person was responsible for both.
Firefighters responding to the marina had to deal with hot weather and explosions from 55-gallon drums of motor oil stored in the garage. The building, which was built around 1900, helped protect firefighters from shrapnel.
"The firefighters were keeping a fairly safe distance," Erickson said. "Fortunately, the building walls were about 18 inches thick, so when the tanks did blow, they stayed within the confines of the building."
About 50 feet away from the burning garage was a storage warehouse packed with boats worth millions of dollars. The chief said firefighters' first priority was to protect the neighboring houses and the warehouse.
http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Lac...z/-/index.html
They need to catch these arsonists, before someone gets killed. Paugus Bay Marina is run by great people.