N.H. Officials Suspect Arson in Rash of Brush Fires

FARMINGTON, N.H. -- Officials claim a large brush fire which took place Saturday afternoon near Route 11 and injured a firefighter was intentionally started and is the third in a series of suspicious blazes all believed to have been ignited by the same party.

The one-alarm fire on Saturday was reported at approximately 3:48 p.m. by several passing vehicles on the highway who saw the large amount of smoke above trees off Route 11. Chief Rich Fowler said due to the dry grounds, the fire spread easily and consumed two-and-a-half acres of land near the site of the former Big Apple convenience store.

He said this brush fire is similar to two others which occurred in April, off the snow machine trail path which runs through the woods in that area.

While the fire was contained, Fowler said one of the firefighters was injured and hurt but he is expected to return to work next week. He said when the firefighter moved a gate near the path, it fell and hurt his foot.

"The best access to the fire was through the snowmobile gates in a trail where all the fire have originated from," Fowler explained.

Fowler added this fire is strikingly similar to one which occurred on April 3 at approximately noon in the same area, which consumed two acres, and then another which occurred on April 16, which destroyed one-and-a-half acres, also in the daytime.

"The bad news is within a month we've had three significant brush fires, all within a mile of each other," he said. "We're calling assistance from the state forest division to try to help with the investigation because we've eliminated all natural causes. The only way they could have started is by someone."

He said his department is urging the community to be on the lookout for suspicious activity in that area and anyone with further information on the three fires to come forward.

"We've kind of put it together that these are all suspicious in nature," he said. "We hope people will be paying more attention to what they see on Route 11 and if they see anything suspicious, they can give us a call -- I'm asking if there was anybody in these areas at this time to please give us a call. That information would be very helpful, (too). "

He said these fires have been a nuisance as well, "tying up" local resources. He said Milton, New Durham, Rochester and Alton were all called in for aid during the weekend incident.

"Being so close together, my instinct is that it's being deliberately set and what (the acting party's) motivation is, I have no idea. People start fires for all kinds of reasons," he said. "In this fire, someone actually got hurt. Every time we go out on a call, it's a dangerous situation and we don't need to be going out on fire that could have been prevented. We just want it to stop because it ties up town resources for other, true emergencies."

Copyright 2012 - Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service