Investigation begins into suspicious fire at Granite State Fairgrounds in Rochester

ROCHESTER -- Rochester police and the state fire marshal were on hand at the Granite State Fairgrounds Tuesday after a Monday night fire destroyed an unoccupied historic horse barn.

The fire, which broke out at the former Rochester Fairgrounds at 72 Lafayette St. Monday night was deemed suspicious by investigators.

"When the first crews arrived, they found an unoccupied horse barn fully involved," said Jarrod Wheeler, deputy chief of operations for the Rochester Fire Department. "The barn was being used as storage, and since it wasn't occupied it is considered suspicious. The State Fire Marshal and Rochester Police will be investigating."

On Tuesday, officials were back on scene looking for a cause of the fire.

"The fire marshal was out last night," Wheeler said. "There is no cause yet for the fire. Due to the amount of damage, it will be hard to nail down the exact cause, so the investigation will take some time. The barn is a total loss."

Rochester Police Captain Todd Pinkham also said there was no new information regarding the investigation.

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Tom Dubois, who serves on the Granite State Fair Board, said he grew up in Somersworth and has been coming to the fair since he was a child.

"I remember horses in here," said Dubois, pointing at the charred ruins of the barn. "It was quite a stable. The barn was never green but it was called the green barn because people from Vermont used to board their horses in here."

At one time, the fairgrounds included a track and horse racing. Jim Mitchell, who, with his son did the electrical work for the fairgrounds for 30 years, remembers.

"The night work at the fair was decent when they had the horse track," said Mitchell. "We did the the electrical work for the whole fairgrounds. It was good times, with good people. The people who ran the rides were good, and there was never any trouble that I remember. We were here from open to close, to shut off the lights and make sure things were locked down."

Mitchell said eventually the horse track was discontinued in favor of livestock displays.

"The pig barn was fun, and kids liked it," he said. "I haven't been for a long time, but I grew up on a farm so I always found it interesting."

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Wheeler said when they arrived Monday night they had to get a line activated through Eversource to assist with water.

He said after that, the fire was brought under control fairly quickly. The barn is a total loss, he said.

Mutual aid came from Somersworth and Dover, with Milton, Sanford and Berwick providing station coverage.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Investigators: Granite State Fair fire in Rochester NH 'suspicious'