One dead in Deering house fire Saturday night; everyone escaped Sunday night blaze in Franklin

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at  19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames.

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at 19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames. Jay Heath—Courtesy

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at  19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames.

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at 19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames. Jay Heath—Courtesy

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at  19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames.

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at 19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames. Jay Heath—Courtesy

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at  19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames.

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at 19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames. Jay Heath—Courtesy

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at  19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames.

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at 19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames. Jay Heath—Courtesy

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at  19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames.

Crews from around the region responded to a fire at a single-family home at 19 Chance Pond Road that became fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames. Jay Heath—Courtesy

By MICHAELA TOWFIGHI

Monitor staff

Published: 01-27-2025 11:41 AM

Modified: 01-27-2025 5:31 PM


One person was killed in a fire at a single-family home in Deering on Saturday, while everyone escaped the flames at another residence in Franklin the following night. 

The Franklin Fire Department responded to a fire at a single-family home on Chance Pond Road near North Main Street late Sunday night. 

Around 11:15 p.m. a caller reported fire approaching the second and third stories. 

When Fire Chief Michael Foss arrived, the rear of the building at 19 Chance Pond Road was fully engulfed by rapidly accelerating flames. Crews entered the inside of the home to search for anyone who may have been trapped, but all residents are believed to have made it out of the building. The fire department, along with help from the New Hampshire State Fire Marshall, will begin an investigation today. 

“Nothing at this point in time indicates that anybody else was in there,” Foss said.

The situation was more dire in Deering, where one person died and another was injured after being trapped in the burning building.

At 9:19 p.m. on Saturday, Deering Fire & Rescue responded to a report of a fire with multiple people trapped at a single-family home on Hart Farm Road.

Officers from the Hillsboro Police Department arrived on the scene first and reported heavy fire coming from the house, the New Hampshire Fire Marshall reported.

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An adult male, who was initially trapped on the second floor when the fire started, was helped out of the home by a neighbor and transported to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.  He was later transferred to a Boston area hospital, according to the fire marshal.

With the assistance of a state police dog trained to detect human remains, one victim was later located inside the home. The body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the victim’s indentity and cause of death, according to the fire marshal.

Additional assistance was requested and firefighters from the communities of Hillsboro, Bradford, Mont Vernon, Henniker, Hopkinton, Washington, Weare, Antrim, Francestown, New Boston, Goffstown and Bennington responded. The fire was determined to be under control at 11:46 p.m.

The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office and Deering Fire & Rescue are actively investigating the origin and cause of the fire. 

In Franklin, the five-bedroom, two-bathroom house was last sold in December of 2023 for $122,333 to a real estate rental company called Better Late Than Never LLC, based out of Merrimack.