Sad news about Modified Competitor Victor Johnson
FITZWILLIAM — A house fire late Thursday morning on Bowkerville Road has left a man dead.
Fitzwilliam Fire Chief Edwin O. Mattson Jr. would not release the man’s identity this evening, though earlier he said Victor Johnson was taken from the house to the hospital.
The man was alone at the house when the fire broke out shortly before 10 a.m., according to Mattson. When crews arrived on scene, they found heavy smoke. Later, flames came through the front window.
The man was taken to Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene, where he died, according to Mattson.
The fire was reported under control at 11:50, according to dispatchers from Southwestern N.H. District Fire Mutual Aid.
Crews responded from Fitzwilliam, Troy, Rindge, Jaffrey and Swanzey, and Winchendon, Mass., according to Mutual Aid. Some of the crews went directly to a later fire at a Troy auto shop on Route 12.
Two dogs were rescued from the home.
Afterward, crews and neighbors lingered outside the home, where a truck with an A.L. Johnson & Sons roofing company decal was parked in the driveway.
“It’s a very close-knit neighborhood here. Everyone is here to help everyone,” Mattson said.
There was heat and smoke damage throughout the two-story house, Mattson said.
As of this evening, the cause of the fire was unknown. The state fire marshal was on scene to investigate.
