A fire that forced 10 people to flee their Whitefield home late Tuesday afternoon was caused by a “human element” and traced to a piece of rope that had been burned by a boy making a dog leash in the house.
“When he left the room, the piece of rope left behind was not fully extinguished,” said Sgt. Kenneth Grimes, of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, on Friday. That ignited nearby combustible material, he said.
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Burning the ends of synthetic rope can help bind it and prevent it from fraying.
Grimes said no charges will be filed, adding that the decision was made after consulting with the prosecutor’s office.
The blaze at the home of Ted and Sarah Rideout, 452 Mills Road, sent the family fleeing from the two-story wood structure and into the midst of a blizzard.
Three children, boys ages 7, 9 and 13, were in the basement; four adults were on the main floor; and two adults and an infant escaped from the second floor. Which boy was making the dog leash was not made public.
The building was destroyed, and the family members have taken temporary shelter with relatives.
The Whitefield Fire Department and mutual aid companies spent several hours fighting that blaze, and finally an excavator was brought in to spread the debris and help quell the hot spots.
Whitefield firefighters also put out a fire reported at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at Country Manor Rehabilitation and Assisted Living Center, 132 Main St.
Grimes said that blaze was caused by an overheated exhaust fan in a bathroom in a part of the building that did not have any patients.
“There was no evacuation because it was in a nonresidential area,” Grimes said.
Whitefield Fire Chief Scott Higgins, who was the first firefighter to arrive, said Friday he pulled the ceiling fan down. He said the fire marshal was called because an employee of the home had discharged a dry chemical fire extinguisher.
Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour, Higgins said, and an electrician was called to make repairs.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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