This story appeared in the Union Leader and was written by PAT GROSSMITH

Fire Damages Grove St Home

Derry – A family, awakened early yesterday morning by smoke detectors and a neighbor banging on their door, safely escaped their burning home on Oak St.

Shawn Chaput, who owns the house, said all five members of his family were home at the time of the fire but no one was hurt. The family has lived in the house for 2 1/2 years, Chaput said.

Chief Michael Gagnon said two firefighters suffered minor injuries and were taken to Parkland Medical Center. One had heat exhaustion and the other a back injury, he said.

The fire was reported at 4:20 a.m. in the building at the corner of Grove Street. Heavy flames were showing from the back porch when firefighters arrived. The fire moved into the kitchen and second floor, fire officials said.

Firefighters, assisted by departments from Londonderry, Manchester, Auburn and Windham had the blaze under control about 90 minutes later.

Manchester, Chester, Hampstead and Salem provided coverage at the station.

Gagnon said the 2 1/2-story, wood-frame residence was significantly damaged -- heavy fire, smoke and water damage to the entire structure -- and is uninhabitable. The Red Cross is assisting the family and the Salvation Army is providing firefighters with rehabilitative services, according to the chief.

Derry Animal Control is providing temporary care for the family's pets.

The department's investigators are trying to determine where the fire began and what caused it.

Small Steps Early Child Development Center has started a clothing and supplies drive to benefit the Chaput family. The family's youngest daughter, who is 4, attends the preschool. Yesterday, Chris Germain, the center's director, said the family and particularly the 4 year old were devastated by the loss of almost everything in their home.

Germain said Small Steps will be collecting donations of clothing and toiletries for the family. The family's two other daughters, ages 13 and 15, are supposed to start school this week, Germain said, and so donations of school clothes and supplies are being sought in particular.

Correspondent Russ Choma contributed to this story

This story appeared in the Derry News and was written by Courtney Paquette

Neighbor walking dog helps family escape fire unharmed

DERRY | A family of five escaped a fire that gutted their home early yesterday morning thanks to a neighbor who spotted the flames while out walking his dog.

The fast moving fire injured two firefighters, one of whom suffered neck injuries when the attic ceiling collapsed on him. They were taken to a nearby hospital and later released. Both are expected to be fine.

Al Gentile, who lives down the road at 8 Grove St., was awakened around 4:20 a.m. by his 11-year-old Rottweiler Kringle, who needed to go out. When Gentile stepped outside, he smelled smoke. He looked three houses down the road and saw a small fire on his neighbor's porch.

He raced down the street with Kringle and started pounding on the front door of 13 Oak St., the home of Shawn and Tina Chaput and their three daughters. A few seconds later, he saw the family running down the front stairs.

By the time the Chaputs and their two dogs got outside, the entire side of the house facing Grove Street had gone up in flames. The smoke detectors didn't go off until the family was already outside the house, Shawn Chaput said.

"It was all engulfed on the outside," he said of the home he and his wife have owned for 2<1/2> years.

Gentile agreed and said, "That thing was just ablaze."

The Fire Department was unable to determine a cause of the fire, Battalion Chief Michael Gagnon said yesterday, but it appears to have been accidental. It started on the front porch facing Grove Street.

Firefighters put out the blaze in a little more than an hour, but the age and style of the 1,940-square-foot, two-story house allowed the flames to move fast, fire Chief George Klauber said. The home was built in 1900, and the balloon framing | in which studs run from the foundation to the edges of the roof | allowed fire to move from floor to floor unimpeded. The home was heavily damaged by smoke, water and fire and is uninhabitable.

"With this type of balloon construction, there's not much you can do once it's in the walls," said firefighter Rob DeGroot, who worked the ladder truck during the fire.

The attic ceiling collapsed on one of the firefighters, who was taken to Parkland Medical Center in Derry with neck pain and released yesterday morning, Klauber said. Another firefighter was treated at Parkland for heat exhaustion and dehydration. He was released late Monday afternoon. Klauber wouldn't release the names of the two injured firefighters.

Klauber said the neighbor's actions saved the family from being injured and likely saved their lives. Because the fire started outside the house, smoke detectors inside the home picked it up only after flames had developed.

"They're very, very fortunate that he saw that," the fire chief said. "If fire had broken into the house, it would have no doubt put (them) in a bad situation."

Gentile declined the praise, however, saying, "I was just being a neighbor."

Monday, the once light pink home was a blackened mess. A child's bike was melted and warped in the front yard. One of the family's cars was melted and heavily damaged.

Few of the family's belongings | including brand-new back-to-school clothing and supplies | withstood the fire. The Chaputs have three daughters -- Anna, 15, Holly, 13 and Claire, 4.

The family, which has lived in Derry for 10 years, will stay at a hotel for now, Chaput said. They have insurance on the home, he said, which is assessed at $270,400.

Londonderry, Manchester, Auburn and Windham firefighters helped put out the fire. Station coverage was provided by Manchester, Chester, Hampstead and Salem. The Salvation Army canteen helped firefighters recuperate during the fire. The Red Cross is helping the family.

Already, groups in the community are stepping up to help the Chaputs.

Claire attends preschool at Small Steps on Route 28. When Tina Chaput dropped Claire off at preschool Monday, the child cried and told Director Chris Germain that all of her toys were gone. Germain gave Claire a pair of pajamas and a stuffed animal.

Small Steps is starting a clothing and school supplies drive for the girls, and is looking for any help the community can provide.