The house
was owned by Landon and Lavinia Clay, who weren’t home when the fire
broke out, according to their assistant Susan Fisk. She said the
Clays have no idea how the fire started, and they declined further
comment.
Peterborough Fire Chief Joseph P. Lenox said the fire isn’t
suspicious.
“No foul play expected,” he said. “It appears completely
accidental.”
Investigator Keith Rodenhiser of the N.H. Fire Marshal’s Office
arrived shortly before 9 this morning, and met with the owners in a
guest house on the estate.
The fire was reported at 10:18 p.m., and firefighters arrived at
10:22 p.m., Lenox said. They found heavy flames and immediately
called for backup, he said. A third alarm was called about 15
minutes later.
About 50 firefighters from six departments assisted Peterborough.
Helping either at the house or by covering stations were Dublin,
Hancock, Keene, Jaffrey, Meadowood and Temple.
It took four hours to get the fire under control, the chief said,
and this morning small flames still licked blackened timbers on the
ground where the house once stood.
Heavy winds Monday night sent chunks of flaming embers down to
the main streets of Peterborough, and Lenox said he worried another
fire might spark up as a result.
Otherwise, he said, firefighters didn’t encounter any major
problems.
The house sat atop a hill at the end of a roughly quarter-mile
driveway, but Lenox said the driveway is well-maintained, and his
trucks didn’t have any trouble getting there.
Firefighters pulled hoses up the driveway from relay trucks at
the guest house and on Old Street Road.
“We supplied massive water streams,” Lenox said.
One small section of the building was still standing this
morning, though the roof was ripped off and the inside was scarred
black. Bricks from several chimneys, three of which were still
standing, littered the ground.
The house was built in the mid-1700s and was one of the oldest
buildings in Peterborough, Lenox said.
He said firefighters would be at the estate all day, putting out
the last of the hot spots and cleaning up debris.
