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Last Updated 10:48 PM Wednesday, September 01, 2010
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News
| 5/17/2008 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Fire Destroys Barn;
House Saved
Sally Cook
Staff Writer
SOUTH PEACHAM - An fire early Friday destroyed a barn attached to a house, but the Peacham-Groton Road home was saved by quick, intense firefighting efforts by five fire departments.
"The fire was really going in the barn and partially through the roof when I got there, " Peacham Fire Chief Jeff Berwick said. "There were four residents sleeping in the end of the house by the barn. I sent Captain Chip Deasy in to do a search, and they were just coming out."
The Victorian-era home is owned by Charles Gallagher, who was out of town at the time of the fire, Berwick said. Gallagher is a year-round resident, who has owned the home for 10 or 15 years, he said.
The fire was reported at 5:13 a.m. and Berwick, who lives a short distance south of the fire scene, while the fire station is north, said he put out a second alarm as soon as he saw the fire.
See more photos on Page A6
Inside the house sleeping at the time the fire was spotted were Gallagher's son Henry Gallagher, 21, and three friends, who escaped unharmed. The family dog was also unharmed and taken in by neighbor Joanne Post, who lives across the road, while the fire raged.
Berwick said the fire began low in the two-story barn, then worked its way up to the roof, which collapsed about 15 minutes into the fire. There was no hay nor animals in the barn, just some household items and a small workshop, Berwick said.
Meanwhile, the fire scene was complicated by a large 200 gallon propane tank attached to the barn, which had vented itself and was spewing propane that fed the fire.
"That tied up manpower, because they had to keep a hose stream on the tank," Berwick said. Propane from the tank continued to burn after the rest of the fire had been knocked down by 6 a.m.
The raging fire traveled from the barn to the exterior house wall and into the attic of the home, where interior firefighters battled the blaze.
Although there was some smoke damage in the house, it was saved, but the barn was destroyed. Berwick estimated the damage to be around $100,000, mainly for the barn.
"It went really smoothly. We had good interior crews early-on and held it," Berwick said. "Two hours later we would have had half the people because they would have been on their way to work or at work."
He estimated about 50 firefighters were at the scene: 13 from Danville, 10 from Peacham, 10 from Barnet, 10 from Groton, and six or seven from Ryegate.
Tankers from various departments shuttled water into portable tanks from a dry hydrant a quarter of a mile to the south. The hydrant was installed about 10 years ago, Berwick said.
"Everybody did a great job coordinating, and the water supply was good," Berwick said.
South Peacham resident Fran Berwick, Jeff Berwick's father, said he first called the fire in after he spotted smoke coming from the barn through binoculars from a distance of about 1,000 feet.
"I woke up and heard bangs. I thought someone was shooting at a (wild) turkey," Fran Berwick said. "I looked around through binoculars and and saw what looked like a lot of smoke coming from the barn. So, I called 9-1-1.
In the meantime, he said passer-by Matt Kempton stopped and hollered in the house. That might have woke them up, Berwick guessed, although it wasn't apparent anyone heard him.
Berwick said late Friday afternoon the fire is under investigation, but was not believed to be of suspicious origin.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Article comment by:
Dean Middleton
Would it be possible to add pictures of South Peacham Barn burn to your website. I used to live at this same residence 34 years ago and would be interested in seeing it, as sad as it is to here it was destroyed. At least noone was hurt and the house is still there. Thank you in advance for your efforts. Dean.
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