Canaan barn destroyed in 2-alarm fire

Paul Feely, The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
Updated ·1 min read

Apr. 9—No injuries were reported in a two-alarm fire that destroyed a barn in Canaan on Sunday, officials said.

At 2:35 p.m Sunday, Canaan firefighters and EMS along with crews from Enfield, Grafton, Hanover, Lebanon, Lyme and Rumney responded to a reported barn fire at 173 Prospect Hill Road.

At 2:39 p.m., a Canaan police officer arrived on scene and reported the barn was fully involved. A second alarm was struck, bringing in mutual aid from Alexandria, Danbury, Plainfield, Springfield, and Wentworth.

Fire crews reported a 24-foot by 24-foot barn and 10-foot by 12-foot shed both fully involved. Prospect Hill Road was closed for the duration of the fire.

The barn was being used for storage and contained a tractor, tools, equipment, canoes, and a sailboat. Fire officials reported there was fire exposure to a car outside the barn and exposure to numerous trees alongside Prospect Hill Road.

The fire was declared under control around 3:30 p.m. The state Fire Marshal's Office was asked to help determine the cause and origin of the blaze.

"The cause of the fire remains undetermined due to the complete destruction of the building and contents," Canaan fire officials said in a news release.

The fire was completely extinguished and overhauled and mutual aid companies released from the scene at 4:23 PM.

Canaan Fire had nine personnel on scene and five pieces of apparatus, officials said. Canaan Ambulance was unable to respond due to being committed to an additional medical call that came in prior to the fire, fire officials said.