Dozens of Homes Burn; Route 11 Closed (Manchester, Hooksett: houses, inspections, taxi)

[nicolem]

A very bad fire going on in Alton Bay-the wind certainly is not helping matters. I hope that residents and firefighters remain safe.

Dozens of Homes Burn; Route 11 Closed - New Hampshire News Story - WMUR Manchester (http://www.wmur.com/news/19161844/detail.html - broken link)

[nicolem]

Wow-as of 7:30 it is 10 alarms and 52 houses are burning.

[lisa g]

Just read about this horrible fire, and read the homes were unoccupied. I certainly hope that was true and that all firefighters and those nearby are safe.

[buck naked]

Originally Posted by lisa g

Just read about this horrible fire, and read the homes were unoccupied. I certainly hope that was true and that all firefighters and those nearby are safe.

42 homes burnt.... they were summer cottages that SHOULD have been unoccupied. Most likely they were, as the fire was well under way before it was reported. It's not the first time the christian center has had a fire, nor the first time cottages in that area were on fire. The location made it difficult to access for firefighters.

fire fighters responded from as far away as Hooksett and Maine.

there will be inspections of all the dwellings this morning to be absolutely sure nobody was in the homes....

[NewNHguy]

being a firefighter, and a Chief of a town of 12,000 strong no less, fires like this are very taxing, and diffucult to contain. The no frills idea is to get ahead of the fire, cut it off, and not allow it to gain more fuel....ala more homes. Add the howling wind at this fire, and that is why it became a conflagration. Raw video showed the wind driven fire....terrible. now add to it a much needed water supply.....most houses burning were a write-off...that's the reality of the situation.

Even with the lake so close, the fire crews had to draft the water from the lake and either pump it to, or tanker shuttle water to it's intended use site. If the water was dumped, as in from a tanker, once that water is gone, the firefighters are now awaiting another tanker...and so it continues...

Again, watching the video, it appeared that the crews had a real tough time with positioning.....which can make or break a fire.

On a plus side, not too many injuries that I'm hearing of....



http://www.wmur.com/index.html

http://ulocal.wmur.com/_fire-in-Alton-Bay/video/602328/63455.html