Fire destroys Rye Beach home as crews battle blaze in high winds as storm hits Seacoast
RYE — A nearly $2 million Ocean Boulevard home was reduced to rubble in a fire Wednesday night, bringing in firefighters from across the Seacoast.
The fire destroyed the unoccupied 1585 Ocean Blvd. home, about ⅛ mile from Ray's Seafood Restaurant and across the street from the Atlantic Ocean. The fire was difficult to battle amid strong winds at the start of a snowy, gusty spring storm throughout the region. No one was injured, according to Rye Fire Chief Mark Cotreau.
“The conditions were very challenging. We had 40 to 50 mph winds, with some gusts maybe exceeding that,” he said. “This house is right along Ocean Boulevard right across from the water. It was very wind-driven.”
Built in 1988, the two-story residence's most recent assessed value is $1,947,000, according to Rye property records, which show the home was sold last July for $1.8 million.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is under investigation by the New Hampshire state fire marshal, Cotreau said Thursday morning.
Ray's Seafood was not damaged
The fire in close proximity to Ray’s Seafood Restaurant drew a mutual aid response from fire departments across the Seacoast and southern Maine, according to the chief.
After speculation swirled about the exact location of the fire Wednesday night, Ray’s Seafood notified its clientele its business was safe.
“Ray's Seafood is not on fire. One of the residential homes just past the restaurant is on fire,” the business posted to social media late Wednesday. “We're sending our thoughts with the owners of the home, and the Rye Fire Department as they work to put the fire out. We appreciate everyone who has reached out.”
Spring storm Seacoast NH and Maine hit with heavy snow, rain, wind, power outages
Rye firefighters responded quickly and had help
The Rye Fire Department received a report of a structure fire at 9:02 p.m. Wednesday, according to Cotreau. When firefighters arrived, the structure was fully involved in flames and it was spreading due to the wind.
Exposure from the blaze led first responders to safely evacuate the residents of a neighboring home, who remained out of their residence for roughly 90 minutes. Their house was not damaged, Cotreau said.
The fire tore through the 1585 Ocean Blvd. home quickly. Responders had the blaze under control about one hour after arrival.
“The thing the wind does is the wind enhances the fire spread exponentially,” Cotreau said. “The building was consumed faster because of the wind but if the fire was on another night and not that night, we would have had at least a reduced fire spread rate. That would have been advantageous to us but it just wasn’t in the cards. By the time we got there, there wasn’t a whole lot we could do to save that house. It was already fully involved.”
Firefighters kept watch around the home overnight to ensure a second blaze didn’t start up. Rye firefighters cleared the scene around 10 a.m. Thursday.
Mutual aid was provided by fire crews from Portsmouth, New Castle, North Hampton, Hampton, Greenland, Exeter, Newington, Pease Air National Guard Base and Kittery, Maine.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Fire destroys Rye NH Ocean Boulevard home
