A three-alarm fire in a Chichester barn Monday night killed almost all of the 100 chickens who lived inside, fire officials said.
Fire crews responded to 27 Towle-Mason Road just after 5 p.m. Monday night, Chichester fire Chief Alan Quimby said.
Barn owner Wayne Levan, 68, said he had just parked his lawnmower – filled with 2 gallons of gasoline – toward the back of the barn after a day of yardwork when he heard a small pop.
“Next thing I knew the barn was engulfed. It was that fast,” Levan said.
Levan called the fire department, and crews arrived on scene within five to 10 minutes, he said.
The majority of the flames were extinguished within 25 minutes, but the damage was extensive, according to Quimby.
By 5:45 p.m., the framing of the barn was exposed with about half of it having collapsed. Small flames and smoke could still be seen as crews continued to spray the barn. A small pond on the property was used to pump water into the hoses, easing stress on the fire crews in the remote location.
Levan said the barn housed about 100 chickens and some of his tools. After the fire was mostly extinguished, he said he saw about five of the chickens walking around the property, as some of them were free-ranging for the day. Some of them flew out when the flames started, but it is not likely many survived.
“By the time (the firefighters) got here, it was fully engulfed,” he said. “There was no saving it.”
Levan said he has owned the property for 25 years. He said the barn has always been on the property but “in various stages of repair.”
“A third of that barn was on the ground when we moved here,” Levan said.
Levan said he most likely will not totally rebuild the barn to its former glory. Parts of the barn date back to the 1700s.
“There was a 32-foot-long 8-by-8 chestnut beam, and you’ll never ever replace that in this barn,” he said. “It was put in this configuration in 1875, and it will never go back.”
Levan said he had a professional from Eliot, Maine about 20 years ago perform some restoration with post- and-beam construction. Levan said he might build a small garage where the barn stood.
Firefighters from Chichester, Barnstead, Concord, Epsom, Loudon, Allenstown, Pembroke, Canterbury, Pittsfield, Gilmanton, Northwood, Bow, Deerfield and Strafford helped to extinguish the blaze.