Family displaced after fire destroys home

By CHELSEY POLLOCK
Union Leader Correspondent
DERRY -- An Eastman Drive family said their pellet stove is to blame for the blaze that destroyed their Derry home on Monday evening.Firefighters from Derry and many surrounding towns responded to 12 Eastman Drive at about 6:50 p.m. after receiving a 911 call from inside the singlefamily home, said Derry fire Battalion Chief Michael Doyle.
Doyle said the home is occupied by three adults and two teenaged children, but that only two adult visitors were home when the fire started.
“When we got here, everyone was out of the house and there was heavy smoke and fire in the rear,” he said.
First responders entered the home, but were driven out by heavy smoke and fire, he said. A second alarm was raised by 7:05 p.m. because of the amount of flames, he said.
The fire was under control by 8:30 p.m., but pieces of the roof continued to smolder as smoke billowed from the home.Doyle said three firefighters were injured in the blaze and taken to Parkland Medical Center in Derry, one with trouble breathing and two with minor burns to the head and face. One pet was killed in the fire, and firefighters were able to save a cat from the home.
Derry fire prevention officials were on scene to investigate the fire, but Doyle said no cause had been determined by late Monday night. He said the fire is not suspicious.
Jennifer Salvucci, who said she owns the 12 Eastman Drive home with her husband Mark, said the fire started in the family’s pellet stove. They had been using the stove for about a year, she said.
At the time of the fire, Salvucci said two adults were in the home, while she and her teenaged children were out of the house. Mark Salvucci said the family will have to abandon their home of five years. “They told us it’s unlivable, that it’s a total loss,” Mark Salvucci said. “We’ve lost everything.”
Mutual aid was provided by Auburn, Hudson, Londonderry, Salem and Windham, Doyle said. Tankers from Atkinson, Auburn, Chester, Hampstead, Sandown and Windham were also on scene.