By JOHN KOZIOL

Staff Writer

LACONIA — A fire which was reportedly started by a workman doing work on a heating unit left two families homeless and caused thousands of dollars in damage to a multi-unit condominium in the Weirs on Wednesday afternoon.

The three-alarm blaze at a 12-unit building at the Four Seasons, 883 Weirs Boulevard, was reported at 3:29 p.m. and took firefighters about 1½ hours to bring under control.

The intense fire sent plumes of dark smoke high into the air which could be seen miles away.

Krista Marrs who with her husband, Joe Ouellette, lives in a building across the street, was home when the fire broke out.

"My dog Sammy was whining and whimpering, and running up and down the stairs, I looked outside and I saw the smoke coming out of the building. It was sweeping across the roof. Within minutes it was billowing from the roof. It was scary," she said.

Lt. Michael Shastany, one of the first firefighters on the scene, said as he attempted to enter the first floor apartment where the fire reportedly started, the fire lit up.

"I made it back out the door safely," he said.

When other firefighters arrived they attempted to enter the apartment to ventilate it but couldn’t because of the heavy flames shooting out of it, he said.

The workman who told officials he accidentally started the fire, went from apartment to apartment alerting the tenants to get out, the lieutenant said.

No one living in what Fire Chief Ken Erickson described as the seasonally-occupied building was injured, nor were any firefighters hurt while battling the blaze.

Erickson said the building sustained an estimated $300,000 worth of damage and is "uninhabitable."

Although the cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation by both Laconia Fire Prevention Office Charlie Roffo and the state Fire Marshal’s Office, Erickson said it appears to be accidental.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they were met by a workman who told them he had "lit the fire," said Erickson, while doing some repairs in one of the condo units.

The man, whom Erickson did not identify and to whom he said he had not yet spoken about the details of the fire, declined to answer reporters’ questions.

Center Harbor Fire Chief Scott Davis said a ruptured fuel line to a built-in kerosene heater helped to feed the fire.

Laconia and Gilford responded to the initial alarm. The second alarm eight minutes later brought firefighters from the Belmont, Meredith, Franklin, Gilmanton, and Center Harbor to the scene. Tilton-Northfield and Meredith EMS were dispatched to cover central station. Holderness was sent to cover the Weirs station.

Chief Erickson called for a third alarm at 3:58 p.m. Holderness, New Hampton and Tilton-Northfield responded to the scene. A second truck from Tilton-Northfield and a ladder truck from the Loudon Fire Department covered central station. Alton sent a truck to cover the Weirs station.

While the fire was brought under control in about 90 minutes, some firefighters remained on the scene until 8 p.m.

Also responding was the Greater White Mountain Chapter of the Red Cross which provided refreshments to the firefighters and clothing and food to one couple and their two children whose condo unit was totally destroyed.

That family will be able to stay temporarily with friends, said Shelley Proulx, who is the executive director of the Greater White Mountain chapter. She added that the whereabouts of another family that was displaced by the fire were not immediately known.

With Wednesday’s fire and a fire in Belmont last Saturday, Proulx said the chapter’s Disaster Relief Fund is greatly in need of financial contributions.

Donations may be sent to the Disaster Relief Fund, Greater White Mountain Chapter, American Red Cross, 21 Lyford St., Laconia, 03246. For more information call 524-5414.