Rye fire destroys home, sends 3 in second home to hospital

RYE — A fire destroyed a home still under construction on Ocean Boulevard early Tuesday, extending to an occupied neighboring home and sending three people to the hospital with minor injuries, according to Rye Fire Chief Mark Cotreau.

The two-alarm building blaze was reported to the Rye Fire Department at 1:20 a.m., prompting a mutual aid call that brought in firefighters from around the Seacoast, Cotreau said. The cause of the fire is unknown and is under review by the New Hampshire fire marshal.

The fire began at 1595 Ocean Blvd. at an unoccupied residence that was nearing the end of construction. The under-development house is a total loss, Cotreau said.

Three people in neighboring home also burned by fire are OK, chief says

A northerly wind caused the fire to spread to second home, forcing three people to be brought to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. All three people had been released from the hospital by late morning Tuesday, according to Cotreau.

In early April, the same three people were evacuated from their home as a precaution when a nearly $2 million, unoccupied 1585 Ocean Blvd. home next door was destroyed in a fire, the chief said.

“The first arriving crews made a good assessment and entered the home looking for occupants. The occupants thankfully were on the first floor already and they were removed and transported to the hospital,” Cotreau said. “Really unfortunate. My heart goes out to them.”

The second home is “heavily damaged,” the chief added.

No firefighters were injured.

Rye fire chief grateful for mutual aid

Firefighters were still on Ocean Boulevard late Tuesday morning because a propane tank continued to flare up. Crews from Eversource were called to the scene because of burning lines and a telephone pole that was ablaze. An excavator was en route to Ocean Boulevard late Tuesday morning to clear debris.

Cotreau praised the mutual aid response, saying the fire was brought under control and knocked down in about two hours.

“That’s the way you get it done efficiently and that’s how you get it done safely,” he said. “The first few companies did an extraordinary job with that hazard, very happy with the way they worked it out. (I’m) more than grateful we didn’t have fire deaths.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Rye fire destroys home, sends 3 in second home to hospital