Apartments damaged in Belmont fire; cats die, but no people were hurt

A family was displaced and several cats were killed in an overnight fire at a mixed-use building in Belmont.

The fire was reported shortly after midnight Thursday at 53 Concord St. in Belmont village.  The building has a commercial garage and an apartment in the main building and two apartments – one above the other – in an addition. 

The fire apparently started in the ground floor of the addition, Fire Chief Deborah Black said. The first-floor apartment was occupied but the one above it was vacant.  The main building with both garage and apartment were saved but suffered some smoke damage, Black said.

“There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters. Three adults reside in the apartments, with several cats. Unfortunately, the cats did not make it,” Black wrote in a press release.

Extinguishing the fire was difficult because of the way the building had been built up over the years, Black said. That construction had left many voids, or empty spaces behind walls or above ceilings, that let the fire travel. Modern building codes have requirements for fire blocks to be built inside walls and ceiling cavities to prevent that problem.

Firefighters from Belmont, Laconia, Tilton-Northfield, Gilmanton, Gilford and Franklin also responded to the fire, which Black said appeared to be accidental. The building, owned by Kenneth Malone, is listed for sale on real estate sites.