CANAAN — Nobody was injured in a fourth-alarm fire at a house on Potato Road Wednesday morning.

Thirteen towns assisted in the response, Jeremy Thibeault, Canaan fire chief, told the Valley News at the scene Wednesday afternoon. Thibeault started as chief this week.

The fire began around 11:40 a.m. and started in a barn attached to the house at 136 Potato Road, he said.

“The homeowner was here and they called it in to us,” Thibeault said.

He was unable to share how many people live in the house. Nobody was injured.

Hartford firefighters continue to spray water on the smoldering remains of a barn that burned down on Potato Road in Canaan, N.H., on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. Six tons of wood pellets were stored in the barn in preparation for the coming winter. ALEX DRIEHAUS / Valley News Credit: Valley News – Alex Driehaus

Response to the fire was “hampered by a detour caused by the Potato Road Bridge being closed,” he said, though he could not say how long the detour delayed them.

Inside the barn was a “stove that was running,” Thibeault said.

Damage is extensive, he said.

“The barn is a total loss and the house is heavily damaged,” he said.

The cause of the fire is undetermined at this point in the investigation, he said. Chief Thibeault said the department will issue a news release Wednesday evening with more information on the fire.

Alex Ebrahimi is a staff writer at the Valley News. He can be reached at (603) 727-3212 or by email at aebrahimi@vnews.com.
More by Alex Ebrahimi