Seabrook fire and DUI arrests mar otherwise calm but busy Fourth of July at Hampton Beach

Angeljean Chiaramida
·3 min read

HAMPTON — The Fourth of July holiday passed with no major law enforcement incidents along the southern Seacoast. However, a fire at Seabrook’s CVS is under investigation by the state Fire Marshall’s Office.

According to Seabrook Fire Department, its engines responded Monday, July 3 at 1:39 p.m., for a report of a fire at the Lafayette Road pharmacy. Shift 2, led by Fire Capt. Mark Bibaud, arrived three minutes later, with more Seabrook firefighters responding, as well as mutual aid from Hampton and Amesbury.

“The crowd was mostly well-behaved,” Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno said. “We had minimal arrests.”
“The crowd was mostly well-behaved,” Hampton Police Chief Alex Reno said. “We had minimal arrests.”

Seabrook police provided traffic control along the busy Route 1 area while firefighters extinguished the fire, according to Seabrook Lt. Timothy Mone. Seabrook Fire Department cleared the scene at 4:17 p.m., handing it over to the New Hampshire Fire Marshall for further investigation. The fire was contained in a storage room.

The Fire Marshall’s Office did not immediately return calls for comment.

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Hampton police report quiet Fourth of July

At Hampton Beach, Police Chief Alex Reno reported the rain thankfully caused no flooding in town or other major issues. He added that after the deluge finally stopped on the Fourth, the beach had a large crowd for the fireworks, which went off as scheduled.

“The crowd was mostly well-behaved,” Reno said. “We had minimal arrests.”

According to Reno, the department logged 39 arrests between Friday and the Fourth, which include those individuals taken into protective custody due to alcohol. That’s down considerable from the 67 arrests logged last year over the holiday weekend, he said. Reno attributes the lower numbers to the nasty weather.

“We had four DWI arrests, and only a handful of disorderly conduct arrests,” he said. “We had 488 calls for service. Last year we had 610.”

Reno added adjustments to the department’s road exit strategies worked well to get the crowd home after the festivities.

“Adjustments to the traffic pattern helped us resolve all traffic within about an hour and a half,” Reno said, “which is a great time compared to usual.”

According to Mone, Seabrook police saw a slight increase in calls for service over the holiday weekend but no major events. The department added staff to patrol the Beach Village District over the weekend, he said, in hopes the larger-than-normal police presence would deter potential problems.

Seabrook Police Chief Brett Walker said that appears to have worked. The log registered four individuals taken into alcohol-related protective custody: two non-DWI traffic violations, one bench warrant, and two theft-related arrests.

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NH State Police arrest 8 in DUI patrols

The New Hampshire State Police also were out in force over the holiday weekend along Seacoast and Rockingham County roadways. Troopers assigned to NHST Drug Recognition Expert Unit joined those from Troop A-Epping in conducting a “high-visibility Driving Under the Influence Saturation Patrol initiative” throughout the region.

Funded by the NH Office of Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the initiative put a larger than usual number of troopers out on the Seacoast’s and County’s major roadways.

The result was 89 traffic stops, according to NHSP, resulting in 12 citations and 76 warnings for various motor vehicle infractions.

There were an additional eight individuals arrested for mostly alcohol-related criminal offenses. Three Massachusetts residents were arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and one with driving after license suspension. Four New Hampshire residents also were arrested, three charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and one with driving after license suspension for a DUI-related conviction.

Additionally, state troopers took four people adults into protective custody because their intoxication levels posed safety risks to themselves or others. These individuals were released to responsible parties or taken to the Rockingham County Department of Corrections.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton Beach NH Fourth of July police blotter: Seabrook fire, DUI arrests