Charlestown garage fire damages home days after apartment blaze

A two-car garage burned to the ground at 650 Calavant Hill Road on Tuesday evening, and the fire damaged the nearby home, adding another costly loss for Charlestown just days after an apartment blaze displaced about 10 people.

Public updates did not identify injuries or say anyone was forced from the Calavant Hill Road property, but the damage was substantial enough to leave the homeowner facing repairs to both the garage and the house. My Champlain Valley reported that the fire started in the garage and spread into the rest of the home, a pattern that can quickly turn a single outbuilding fire into a structure loss.

The Calavant Hill Road scene also drew response from both sides of the state line. Because the fire area is close to the Claremont town line, Claremont firefighters were first on scene, and Charlestown responders later described the blaze as the town’s third structure fire in eight days. In a community of just 659 people, according to Census-derived data, that kind of run can stretch volunteer coverage and mutual-aid coordination fast.

The new fire followed another severe loss on Old Claremont Road, where an early-morning blaze on May 22 displaced about 10 residents. That fire began around 5:30 a.m. and was upgraded to a second alarm about 6 a.m. It killed two cats, though the residents escaped with a dog and two cats. Acting Fire Chief Shawn O’Hearne said the building, a farmhouse converted into apartments, was expected to be a total loss.

Charlestown has seen this pattern before. A detached garage fire on Happy Acres Drive in August 2024 destroyed the garage and left the homeowner with burns to his arm and hands. O’Hearne said that fire appeared to have started in the garage and was not considered suspicious. He is also listed on Charlestown’s emergency-services page as the town’s forest fire warden, underscoring how much the town relies on a small pool of local responders to handle major incidents.

For homeowners, the recent fires point to a familiar set of risks: garages often hold tools, seasonal belongings, fuel and electrical systems that can accelerate a blaze and spread smoke, heat and water damage into the main house. In a week that has already brought three structure fires to Charlestown, those hazards are no longer abstract.