Fire Destroys Town Hall in Jefferson, New Hampshire

[ChrisB]

Big fire in Jefferson NH.

Story here...

Hope Andrew is ok!

 

[B the Hiker]

It's not a criticism, but it would be helpful if people who posted links said a little more about them. The link is to an article about the town hall of Jefferson, NH burning down. There's nothing hiking or mountain related in it.

All the best,

Brian

 

[bikehikeskifish]

(I fixed the thread title to be more descriptive)

Tim

 

[ChrisB]

It's not a criticism, but it would be helpful if people who posted links said a little more about them. The link is to an article about the town hall of Jefferson, NH burning down. There's nothing hiking or mountain related in it.

Sorry, I'll be more concrete in the future.

My assumption in posting that link on this board is we all are invested in the well being of the towns and villages of our North Country. Plus we have members who live in the area and might be part of vol fire departments or rescue / EMS services.

An event like this is worth our knowing about as much as where to get a good breakfast sandwich in Twin Mountain.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

It's entirely on topic, Chris, for the reasons you mention. The title could have been clearer, which I took the liberty of fixing.

Tim

 

[peakbagger]

The actual town buildings of Jefferson were an afterthought to the Waumbek Grand Hotel Complex. I saw some older lithos of the town layout and various hotel support establishments filled in the gap between the old hotel location and the center of town. The guests did want to get their various religions, explaining the multiple churches and then you had the rich folks cottages on the other side of RT2 with several faded ones heading east on RT2. RT 115 used to end at the village center but when the new RT 115 was relocated east, it took away another reason to exist. The town of Jefferson predates Randolph and used to include what is now the town of Randolph.

Folks may not remember but back in late 1980s there was serial arsonist that burned many buildings in town. There was FBI, State and sheriffs staking out the town. Anyone pulling over to the side of the road at night would usually be immediately visited by some law enforcement officer and national news organizations reported from town frequently I think it lasted an entire summer. The arsonist was very good at hiding his tracks. he started with unoccupied camps and ended up torching homes with people in them. They did catch him and he was a volunteer fireman. His name was Lance Lalumiere (Lumiere in French is "bright light"). He was acquitted but I am unsure of his status. My guess would be if he ever did get out they would know where he is. https://apnews.com/article/122c7cc44bc45c421c51f9f8f089eb39.

I found this with quick google search https://people.com/archive/stalked-...es-in-fear-of-the-fire-next-time-vol-30-no-9/

Hopefully there will be a known hopefully accidental cause. Immediately east of the town hall that at one point was a refuge for some sketchy characters. I dont know its current status.

 

[Andrew]

Sorry, I'll be more concrete in the future.

My assumption in posting that link on this board is we all are invested in the well being of the towns and villages of our North Country. Plus we have members who live in the area and might be part of vol fire departments or rescue / EMS services.

An event like this is worth our knowing about as much as where to get a good breakfast sandwich in Twin Mountain.

Thanks for your concern Chris (unless it was another Andrew in your original post), I'm well away from that area lately. I'm not involved in any emergency services anymore- my years in S&R made it apparent to me I was not well suited for the stress involved.

One of the major impacts that can happen with incidents like this is it can tie up travel in certain parts of Coos with only one way through, although Jefferson has a few more roads around. Heck just replacing a culvert on some of the roads can change your day's plans drastically.