CLAREMONT — A mobile home fire on Tuesday marks the third house fire in Claremont in the last 10 days, all of which resulted from “human error,” according to the Claremont Fire Department.
On Tuesday morning the Claremont Fire Department responded to a “heavy fire” at a three-bedroom manufactured house on 266 Sugar River Drive, a rural road on the outskirts of town.
Two residents, Jeffrey Williams, 28, and his brother, Nathan Williams, were at home at the time of the fire. No one was injured, according to a fire department report, though the house sustained severe fire damage and was deemed a total loss.
“It’s still sinking in,” Jeffrey Williams told the Valley News on Wednesday. “Watching (firefighters) rip the house apart (yesterday) to get the hot spots killed me. And it’s going to kill me to get in there and start throwing everything away.”
Williams, who rents the property, shared the home with his girlfriend, Rachael Nestle, his brother Nathan and Nathan’s fiancee, Crystal Reed. Five children in total also lived with the adults.
“We are all one family,” Nestle said.
Williams, who grew up in the home, said he was in the process of purchasing the property outright from the owner. Williams had poured his own money into repairs and renovations, including new flooring and carpeting.
Most of the belongings inside were destroyed by the fire, including Christmas presents that the adults had bought for the children. Williams said that he does not have insurance for the contents.
The Claremont Fire Department could not determine whether the home is insured by the owner. The department attempted to reach the property owner, listed as Macie Norman, of Plainfield, but had not received a response as of Thursday morning.
“I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy,” Williams said about the fire. “It’s just something that you never expect to happen.”
According to fire investigators, the fire was caused by the “improper use” of a propane heater to thaw frozen outside water pipes located underneath the house.
Williams said they have regularly used the heater, a small salamander heater that fans cold air through a heating element in past winters to thaw the frozen pipes, though this time the heater must have been placed too close to materials that had potential to combust.
The family is currently living in a mobile home in Enfield that Nestle’s father owns. Williams said he is looking to acquire a camper so the household can return to their property in Claremont.
There are also two active crowdfunding campaigns to raise money for the household.
“Any little bit of help will go a long way,” Williams said. “We have a really good community here when people need it.”
Claremont firefighters have responded to three major house fires since Dec. 4. All three fires were a result of an accidental “human error,” as opposed to a mechanical failure or arson, according to Claremont Fire Chief Bryan Burr.
On Dec. 4, the Claremont Fire Department responded to a house fire at 94 Sullivan St., a temporary living facility owned by Turning Points Network, a domestic violence prevention nonprofit in Claremont. Investigators traced the cause of the fire to smoking materials on the front porch.
On Dec. 10 a house fire at 8 Bay St. was attributed to an “improperly maintained chimney” that the residents used for burning wood for heat, which resulted in a chimney fire. Though no fatalities were reported, the damage to the house was severe and resulted in a “total loss of the home.”
While most accidental human-caused fires occur from cooking activities, Burr said the department typically sees an uptick in heating-related fires during the winters, such as fires derived while using electric space heaters, woodstoves or outdoor propane heaters.
Patrick Adrian may be reached at 603-727-3216 or at padrian@vnews.com.