University of New Hampshire officials report that 55 boats and other equipment were destroyed by a fire at the school's Barrington boathouse on March 3. A university spokesman said the fire caused $500,000 worth of damage.
State Fire Marshall Bill Degnan said that the fire has been ruled as arson.
The boathouse, on Mendum's Pond, isn't wired for electricity. In addition, the building was shuttered for the winter and the road going to it remained unplowed, making the trek there difficult enough that firefighters couldn't take a truck to the site and had to use four wheel drive vehicles with portable pumps and tap the lake for water. Officials were unable to navigate a fire truck down the 3/4 -mile road to the boathouse.
The boathouse is used by UNH's sailing team, a co-ed club sport that is scheduled to start later this month. A university spokesman said the team has received offers from others to use their boats, as well as donations.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.