A kitchen fire at a Bow home on Thursday afternoon rendered the entire house unsafe to live in.
Around 12:48 p.m., the Bow Fire Department received a call reporting a fire at 59 Logging Hill Road.
Fire Chief Dennis Comeau said a young man was home alone and trying to make lunch when he accidentally started a fire that spread quickly.
The man ran outside to call 911, and no one was injured in the fire, although it caused severe damage to the house. Much of the side of the house and porch was left charred and unsalvageable. There was also fire in the basement.
“The house is certainly uninhabitable,” said Comeau. “The damage is extensive.”
Although firefighters had the blaze under control by 1:30 p.m., Comeau said the response was complicated by a live wire resting on a pickup truck in the driveway for about 15 minutes.
Comeau said utility crews were called to secure the wire.
For a brief period in the afternoon, part of Logging Hill Road, between Albin Road and Knox Road, was closed to allow emergency crews to respond to the fire.
It’s unknown if the house had working fire or smoke alarms. Property records show the building is a three-bedroom house.
Fire crews from Hopkinton, Goffstown, Dunbarton, Pembroke, Henniker and Capital Area Mutual Aid assisted at the scene.
Data from the state shows that fatal fires often involve non-functioning or missing smoke alarms, as well as individuals smoking while using an oxygen device.
Modern homes burn faster than those of past decades because today’s furnishings often contain synthetic, petroleum-based materials, such as plastics, foams and fibers, that ignite quickly and burn intensely.
Thirty years ago, occupants typically had 15 to 20 minutes to escape a house fire. Today, that window can be as short as five minutes, according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
