New Boston News : Fire

New Boston home lost to fire, no insurance

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:45:00 GMT

A New Boston couple lost their home and possessions in a devastating fire on Oct. 28. Richard and Gail Riendeau of 97 Saunders Hill Road did not have homeowners insurance.

Gail Riendeau’s brother, Steven Christensen, said they were dropped by multiple insurers. “For whatever reason their insurance company, their homeowners, dropped them,” he said.

He said his sister then tried another company who would not insure them. They were insured for some time by Lloyd’s of London, he said, but were dropped again. “Nobody gave them a reason as to why they dropped them,” he said. “She eventually ended up calling the insurance commission and ended up getting no results.”

Now, the two have lost their home, belongings and the tools needed for Richard Riendeau’s work in the fire, which officials said may have been caused by a candle. “It’s an awful sad story. He’s self-employed as a remodeling contractor, and he had started remodeling their house. They were in that home for close to 30 years,” he said.

Gail Riendeau has multiple sclerosis and cannot work, Christensen said. “Richard has pretty serious burns. He won’t be able to work, even if he had some (work), for a little while,” Christensen said.

He said Riendeau got second- degree burns on the bottom of his feet while trying to put out the fire.

The couple is currently staying with Gail Riendeau’s son from a previous marriage, Christensen said. But their family does not have much money to help them: Gail’s son is a single father to four children, and her parents are elderly and have limited resources, he said. “They have no insurance. He really has had no work because of the recession, and they both have serious health conditions,” Christensen added.

Richard Riendeau recently had surgery on a tumor in his pituitary gland, he said.

It is not clear if any of the home will be salvageable.

“What I am concerned about is that he might end up with just the lot in New Boston,” Christensen said. “(Richard) is able, once he recovers, of (rebuilding) it himself, but he needs the tools and at least a line of credit.” “We only have so many resources, and they’re also too proud to ask for a lot of it, too,” he added.

For now, he said the family is just finding it hard to believe how much they have lost. “It’s really devastating, and they’re still in a daze,” Christensen said.

A fund has been set up at TD Bank at 2 High St., P.O. Box 310, New Boston, NH 03070. Monetary donations may be mailed to the Riendeau Fire Fund at that branch or made in person at any TD Bank branch.

Personal items may be donated by contacting Shannon Silver, New Boston health officer, at 487-5504, ext. 108.

New Boston Year in review 2007

Goffstown Editor — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 01:00:00 GMT

BY MICHELLE KIM

For many residents in Goffstown, Weare and New Boston, 2007 had a strong a sense of deja vu. Few would have thought a 100-year flood would happen two years in a row. But it did.

Here’s a look at a few events in New Boston:
Rose Meadow Farm, a residential care facility for clients 18 and older with brain and spinal cord injuries, opened up a second facility on Bedford Road, called Rose Meadow Gardens, with 13 more openings.

A fire broke out in January at 114 Pine Road, the home of Kelsiey Nippe and Jerrod Poliquin, who were awakened by the sound of their smoke detector. The Fire Department was able to locate and put out the fire before any significant structural damage was caused.

At the March Town Meeting elections, voters accepted the $3.4 million operating budget, a 9 percent increase over the previous year’s operating budget, and approved almost all the warrant articles, except for an article seeking money for a footbridge connecting the central village to the south commercial district, despite a heated campaign by the article’s proponents.

The article would have required $30,000 from the town and acquired the other $120,000 through state grants.

Voters returned six-year incumbent selectman and board Chairman Dave Woodbury over challenger Kim DiPetro.

The school operating budget of $9.4 million, which was close to the default level, easily passed, as did articles for a new teacher contract requiring about $120,000 in new spending. A $33,000 article to conduct a study on expanding the New Boston Central School that had sparked discussion at the deliberative session also passed.

Also during March, New Boston part-time resident Richard Hawes, 65, of Friendly Beaver Campground, who pled guilty to trafficking pornographic photos of his 2-year-old granddaughter, was sentenced in Concord District Court to 10 years in prison.

The floods from the April 15 and 16 nor’easter brought worse damage to local roads than 2006’s Mother’s Day floods, according to Police Chief Chris Krajenka. The main thoroughfares of Route 13, Route 136, Route 77 and Bedford Road were all closed, and several families were displaced from their homes, with about five staying overnight at the emergency shelter set up by the Greater Manchester Red Cross at the Central school.

Small brooks and streams became raging torrents that overflowed their banks and destroyed the pavement, and clear cutting 40 acres of forest for construction off of Bedford Road caused rushing waters to undermine a 12-foot section of the road. Gov. John Lynch visited the police station April 17. In all, there was about $400,000 worth of damage, according to Town Administrator Burton Reynolds.

New Boston was one of nine counties declared federal disaster areas, making it eligible for FEMA aid. FEMA representatives toured the area in June.

Reynolds said the town would apply for FEMA and state aid, which should reimburse about 88 percent of the damage. The Mother’s Day floods made the town much more familiar with applying for aid, he said.

The school district applied for a waiver for the time it missed because of flood-damaged roads that prevented school buses from getting to Central or to the Goffstown schools.

In May, builder Aaron Fielder was arrested in Londonderry and charged with felony forgery after he allegedly forged the certificate of occupancy for a $365,000 Hutchinson Lane home after it failed to pass inspection by the town building inspector. The Hutchinson Lane subdivision was being built by Front Line construction in New Boston.

Water from River Road Spring, a popular local landmark on Route 13, was declared unsafe after detection of an abnormal level of coliform bacteria, a naturally occurring organism that probably came from the flooding run-off water, according to health officer Shannon Silver.

Selectmen hosted information sessions on the transfer station April 30 and in July. The town achieved its goal of 40 percent recycling in May and discussed ways to increase that rate, such as an incentive program for haulers.

The Board of Selectmen adopted a new energy conservation policy in July to look for practical ways to save energy within the town’s means.

The Fourth of July celebration introduced rock climbing, in addition to the traditional favorites of mud volleyball, fiddler’s contest, chicken barbecue, parade and fireworks.

In September, the 50th anniversary Hillsborough County Fair went on despite heat and rain that reduced its attendance by half. The fireworks were canceled, but everything else continued as planned. Peter Carter of Goffstown won the giant pumpkin contest with a gourd weighing 1,101 pounds. The same pumpkin had won the grand prize at the Rochester Fair.

In August, Dave Woodbury donated a 100-year-old railroad passenger car he had been renovating for the last 15 years to the Contoocook Riverway Association to put on display.

The New Boston Police Department saw staff changes with the resignation of officer Josh Woehl and, after a long search, the hiring of a new candidate to be sent to the police academy.

A study conducted by the former police chief concluded the department needed 10 officers to function at full capacity; the department currently has four full-time officers, including the chief, and one part-time officer.

Chief Chris Krajenka put in a request for an additional officer for the 2008 budget, which would bring the number of spots for sworn officers to eight. The budget proposal also included a request for eight Tasers.

A delegation of teachers from Iceland visited the New Boston Central School in October to observe the Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support (PBIS) program as part of a three-day trip to New Hampshire. The teachers swapped ideas with New Boston teachers and presented the Central School with a book and a flag from their school.

The New Boston Climate and Energy Committee organized a fair in November to promote awareness of climate change and energy efficiency in conjunction with a nationwide series of events called “Step It Up.” In the second half of the event, local politicians answered residents questions in a forum on policy, incentives and ideas on climate change.

The property tax rate for 2007 decreased 8.4 percent, despite a doubling of the town portion of the tax, mostly because of a larger than expected adequacy education grant that lowered the school portion of the tax. The overall rate was $14.02 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Also in November, an enormous barn fire on a Bunker Hill Road barn killed 125 goats trapped inside, many of which were pregnant and due soon. The property and goats were owned by Steve Caggiano.

At one point, up to 75 firefighters from 10 different communities were fighting the barn fire, side house fire and spot brush fires. The cause of the fire is unknown but not suspicious.

A survey and architectural study concluded expanding the New Boston Central School to possibly bring back grades 7 and 8 would take up too much parking and playground space.

Only $3,000 of the $33,000 granted in the warrant article was used and the rest will be returned to the town, according to Principal Rick Matthews.

125 animals die in blaze

Goffstown Editor — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:30:00 GMT

BY MICHELLE KIM

A fire destroyed a barn filled with hay and goats, Saturday, Nov. 10, killing 125 animals trapped inside and burning down the side wing of the nearby house, according to the New Boston Fire Department.

Upon responding to a call shortly after 9:30 p.m., the New Boston Fire Department found the three-story, 2,525-square-foot barn at 231 Bunker Hill Road completely engulfed in flames that lit up the night sky.

The upper two levels of the barn were filled with hay and the lower level housed the 100- plus goats being bred by owner Steve Caggiano. Many of the goats were pregnant and due in the next few weeks.

With the hay, metal roof and dry wood of the old barn, “it was like an oven and just built on itself,” said Fire Chief Daniel MacDonald. “They were probably dead by the time they even saw the fire.”

Up to 75 firefighters from 10 surrounding communities, including Francestown, Bedford, Goffstown, Dunbarton and even Manchester, and six additional brush crews and trucks responded to calls for assistance. Assistant Fire Chief George St. John oversaw the brush crews while Francestown Fire Chief Donald Abbott directed the efforts against the main barn fire.

Strong winds spread embers that started spot fires in the brush and across the street in a large field.

The shed attached to the main part of the house, used as an office, burned down, but firefighters were able to save the main part of the house with damage only to the attic. Caggiano lives down the road and used the house as a business location.

The fire was declared under control by 11:34 p.m., though crews continued to combat brush fires and flare ups into early Sunday morning.

The cause of the fire is unknown but not suspicious, according to the Fire Department, and may remain that way since the destruction was so complete.

MacDonald said residents had smelled smoke earlier and one person had driven by at approximately 9 p.m., but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

The Fire Department went back the next day to make sure there were no lingering sparks or embers, said MacDonald, and Caggiano buried the carcasses Sunday.

The goats were like pets to him, said MacDonald.