The cause of a fire in Epsom is being investigated after a four alarm blaze tore through the 1960s wooden-framed house on Dover Road on Tuesday afternoon.

The home at 1495 Dover Road has been for sale for the last several years and was most recently listed in December for $199,000, according to property records. The listing was removed Tuesday after the fire.

“There is no reason for this thing to catch on fire; that’s why we are trying to figure out why, but we don’t know at this point,” said Epsom Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton.

Epsom Fire Department responded to 5-bedroom, Cape Cod style home on Route 4 around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday after receiving reports of smoke were coming from the metal roof of the single-family structure. By 3 p.m., Epsom firefighters were joined on scene by fire departments from Nottingham, Northwood, Barnstead, Pittsfield, Chichester, Loudon, Concord, Pembroke, Allenstown, Bow, Deerfield and Hooksett while Strafford provided mutual aid to the Epsom home base as the alarm was raised to the highest degree. Thirteen capital region fire departments assisted in extinguishing the fire.

“We went over on the second alarm and relieved the Epsom crew to help with the fire and we did some overhaul,” said Concord Deputy Fire Chief Mark Hebert. “They wanted an additional tower ladder there.”

The bulk of the fire was knocked down by 3:45 p.m. and firefighters, police officers and the N.H. Fire Marshal stayed on scene until around 9:30 p.m to investigate. Part of Dover Road was closed while fire crews fought the blaze but was reopened by 5:30 p.m. Interviews and investigations continued on Wednesday.

No injuries were reported and the house was not occupied at the time of the fire, Yeaton said.

“Most of the damage is on the left side of the building but with the water damage, it’s likely a total loss,” he continued.

Though unoccupied, utilities like oil and electricity were still turned on inside the home.

The wooden-framed home sits on 1.2 acres of land that abuts the Little Suncook River and has been for sale numerous times over the last several years.

Owner Cheryl Duval could not be reached for comment.

The fire remains under investigation by the Epsom fire and police departments and the N.H. Fire Marshal.

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