Officials are investigating the cause of a three-alarm garage fire that killed a Henniker man Sunday night.

Friends said William Goss, 32, died in the blaze, which broke out shortly before 9 p.m. at 48 Peasley Road in Henniker. Goss lived in an apartment above the garage.

It took crews from eight towns about 50 minutes to get the fire under control. Henniker fire Chief Keith Gilbert said when his department arrived on the scene, the second floor of the garage was fully engulfed and collapsed about 10 minutes later.

Firefighters battled flames and several explosions caused by aerosol and ammunition stored in the garage, he said.

The owner of the garage, Linda Drew, lives in a house next door and was home when the fire began.

Drew said she and others first noticed heavy smoke emerging from the back of the garage, which sits on a dirt road and is surrounded by tall trees. They attempted to get inside but the heat and smoke forced them back, she said.

"Three of us tried to get in up the stairs, but the smoke pushed us out," Drew said. "We thought he was in there but weren't sure. By the time they found him, it was too late."

Drew said Goss, a graduate of Hillsboro-Deering High School, was a family friend who'd been living in the apartment since 2003.

She said she believed a woodstove caught fire on the bottom level of the garage and the fire spread before Goss was able to escape.

The state Fire Marshal's Office was on the scene early yesterday morning and is continuing to investigate the cause of the fire.

In a statement released yesterday, fire investigator William Clark said the victim's body was found on the first level of the two-story structure.

Investigators were unable to determine if there was a working smoke detector in the building, the release said.

Officials have not confirmed the victim to be Goss, though an autopsy is scheduled for today.

Several friends were at the house yesterday morning helping with the cleanup. They talked quietly while they worked, keeping their heads down as they removed heaps of blackened material from the area. One car sat under a pile of charred debris in the gutted garage. One side of Drew's house was warped and partially melted from the heat.

Having insurance on the garage provided little comfort for Drew and her family yesterday, she said.

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