Fire destroys Peterborough home
Published: 01-13-2025 9:13 AM
Modified: 01-13-2025 12:47 PM |
A Peterborough home was left uninhabitable Sunday afternoon after a fire that drew crews from towns stretching from Milford to Keene.
Peterborough Fire Chief Ed Walker said the first alarm came in at 1:19 p.m. for a blaze on Nichols Road in Peterborough, and a second alarm followed. Peterborough crews were first on the scene to find he structure engulfed in flames.
“A breezeway was involved, with flames extending to the garage and the house,” Walker said.
The intensity of the ground-floor blaze caused the ceiling to collapse and the contents of the attic to fall to the first floor. It also required crews to enlarge a window opening to get at the blaze. Crews from Temple, Jaffrey, Hancock, Dublin, Keene, Milford, Bennington, Greenfield, Antrim and Rindge responded to the fire as part of mutual aid.
“It (the fire) was knocked down by 2:05, and things were squared away by 3:50,” said Walker, although a Peterborough tanker remained on site for several hours as a precautionary measure. The Red Cross was assisting the lone tenant of the home with housing as of Sunday afternoon, and Walker said there were no injuries to people or pets.
According to Walker, “careless disposal of wood stove ashes” was the apparent cause of the fire. He said unextinguished embers were removed from a stove to a container in the breezeway, causing the fire, which spread to the garage and house.
“It’s a very common cause,” said Walker.
How to store ashes
Article continues after...
Yesterday's Most Read Articles






According to University of New Hampshire Extension, to store ashes safely, remove them from the wood stove according to the manufacturer's directions and place them in a covered metal container. Store the container of ashes outdoors on a cement or brick slab at least three feet from any combustible surface.
Don't store ashes on a wooden deck or porch. Even though the ashes may appear cold, buried embers may still be capable of starting a fire. Don't spread the ashes for at least a month after removing them from the stove, and spread them on a windless day.