CLAREMONT — On Sunday evening a second fire of suspicious origin in a vacant building in the city was reported, 10 days after another fire destroyed a Main Street structure.
No injuries were reported in either blaze.
Crews were called to the 1½-story wood frame building at 263 North Street just past 8:30 Sunday evening.
The first firefighters on the scene reported a large volume of smoke coming from the structure, Claremont Deputy Fire Chief Brian Rapp said in a news release. Rapp said the fire was extinguished by 9 p.m. and it was determined to have started in the basement.
“The fire was deemed under control at 9:10 p.m.,” Rapp said. “Due to (the fact) there was no power to the structure and it was unoccupied, the fire is deemed suspicious.”
The building, located just uphill from the Main Street intersection, was constructed in 1880. It has been owned by the city since 2019. The 3.4 acres of land includes a barn and detached garage.
On Aug. 4, firefighters responded to a fire in a vacant 2½-story wood frame building next to the parking garage on Main Street. The fire destroyed the structure and a detached garage and Claremont Fire Chief Bryan Burr said they determined it was caused by “human factor,” though because of the extent of the destruction, investigators could not determine an exact cause or point of origin. That building, also built in 1880, was privately owned.
Anyone with information on either fire is asked to call the Claremont Police at 603-542-9538 or the Fire Department, Fire Prevention Bureau, at 603-542-7012.
