The old Lewis farmhouse on Lewis Hill Road in Bethlehem had been abandoned for decades and was so damaged it was beyond rehabilitation - so, the new owner of the farmhouse and adjacent property decided the safest thing was to allow volunteer fire departments to burn it as a training exercise.
Click through the slideshow above to see photos by NHPR's Chris Jensen.
Saturday morning, departments from Bethlehem, Sugar Hill, Twin Mountain, Whitefield and Franconia gathered. They practiced setting and fighting fires in various rooms and then searching for “extensions” of the flames in the walls and ceiling, before the entire structure was allowed to burn.
