Staff Writer

ALTON — Firefighters from five area departments were called to a home in the Alton Bay Christian Conference Center grounds on Tuesday when an occupant returned to find it ablaze.

Assistant Fire Chief Scott Williams said nobody was hurt in the fire and its cause remains under investigation.

Firefighting units were called to a single story modified ranch at 19 Rand Hill Road at approximately 6:40 p.m. and had the fire under control in about half an hour.

Williams said nobody was in the home when it caught fire and an occupant reported it when returning home from house-sitting.

He said the first units to arrive found substantial portions of the home ablaze.

"There was heavy involvement," said Williams.

Local units called for a first alarm which summoned crews from Barnstead, Gilford, Gilmanton and New Durham. A truck from Belmont covered the local station.

Williams said crews quickly knocked down the fire and damage was contained to the kitchen and living room area of the home.

"The house is recoverable. It needs some work, but it’s structurally sound," he said.

The home is not inhabitable and Williams speculated that the occupants would return to the home the were house-sitting in. He said the American Red Cross responded to the incident to provide support.

Williams said fire officials have yet to determine the cause of the fire, but added that some electric systems did appear "suspect."

The Alton Bay Christian Conference Center is a non-denominational community that sits off Route 11 overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.

On Oct. 13, 2003, a wind-whipped four-alarm fire destroyed four lakeside cottages in the tightly packed community.

A fire in 1945 destroyed 230 cottages and other buildings at the center, which includes a chapel, dinning hall recreational buildings and about 175 privately owned wooden cottages.

Williams said the home in Tuesday’s fire was not on the lake and didn’t pose the same accessibility problems as others in the community could.