By Shira Schoenberg
The Concord Monitor (New Hampshire)
CONCORD, NH — A single-family home in Concord was destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon.
Homeowner Kerry Aubertine cried as she looked at the ruins of her home at 24 Broad Cove Drive. Her mother, Wendy Richards, was relieved to see her daughter alive.
"I thought you were inside," Richards said as the two embraced.
No one was injured in the fire, which a neighbor reported at 12:23 p.m., Concord Fire Chief Dan Andrus said. A crew was on the scene within six minutes. By then, Andrus said, the house was fully involved.
As firefighters from Concord, Bow and Hopkinton started battling the fire, flames were visible through the house's knocked-out windows and smoke billowed from a hole in the roof.
Firefighters sprayed water on the house's exterior to keep the flames from spreading. The fire was under control by 1:39 p.m., Andrus said. The house was a total loss.
No one was home when the fire broke out. Neighbors and relatives said Jeff Aubertine, who is married to Kerry Aubertine and works for Hood, was at work. Their 4-year-old son, Josh, was at school.
Kerry Aubertine, who works at the county nursing home in Boscawen, was home in the morning but went out to go shopping.
Richards, who lives nearby, said that when she left for work in the morning, her daughter's car was in the driveway. When a neighbor called and said the Aubertines' house was on fire, Richards said she feared Kerry Aubertine was trapped inside.
"When I was home, the car was here," Richards said. "I figured she was taking a nap because she works nights. Thank God she wasn't."
The Aubertines have two pets, both of which survived. Kerry Aubertine said she had taken her dog to the store with her and had let her cat outside.
According to property records, the single-story, two bedroom house is assessed at $27,000. Andrus said the home was built as a summer camp in 1930 and has been owned by the Aubertines since 2000.
The total damage is estimated at $125,000, Andrus said. Kerry Aubertine said she has insurance.
Andrus said fire officials have not yet determined the cause or origin of the fire. They have not found anything suspicious. There was a fireplace in the house, but Kerry Aubertine said she had not lit a fire.
About 30 firefighters responded, with four engines and a tower ladder from Concord and two tankers from Hopkinton and Bow. Firefighters from surrounding towns covered Concord's stations.
The police closed off about a quarter of a mile of Broad Cove Drive as well as the intersection with Carter Hill Road to connect a hose to a fire hydrant there.
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