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HAMPTON BEACH, N.H. --

Firefighters in Hampton battled a five-alarm fire that destroyed much of an entire block of Hampton Beach, overnight Friday.

Crews were called to the Surf Hotel just before midnight. When they arrived, they found that heavy winds had blown the roof off the building and flames were spreading to surrounding building.

Firefighters said the fire quickly went to five alarms and 125 firefighters, including some from Maine and Massachusetts, were called to help contain the blaze.

The bad weather stretched the resources of the Hampton fire department, which had sent teams and equipment to several weather-related emergencies, such as fallen trees and transformer fires, before the hotel blaze was reported at 12:05 a.m. Friday and had to scramble to respond, Fire Capt. David Lang said. Surrounding communities also were taxed and couldn't send help right away.

Within an hour, the fire had consumed at least five businesses, including an arcade and several other seasonal businesses. The buildings were believed to have been unoccupied when the fire broke out.

The hotel sits across the street from the beach on Ocean Boulevard in an area popular with tourists during the summer months.

Paul Sullivan, a retired police officer who lives in the center of town about 3 miles from the hotel, said he could see the fire from his front window.

"I saw a growing glow, getting brighter and brighter by the moment," Sullivan said by telephone.

It took firefighters several hours before they could put out the fire while battling the winds and the cold, but by then the buildings couldn't be salvaged, Lang said.

"They're pretty much gone," he said.

White smoke was billowing from the charred rubble Friday morning as firefighters continued to douse it with water. One building looked as if it had collapsed, and wood and loose insulation poked through the smoldering debris.

The National Weather Service said the region recorded its strongest wind gust of the storm at about the same time the fire was reported - a 68 mph reading, just below hurricane force of 74 mph.

Hampton fire chief Chris Silver said four fires have broken out on the same block in the past 100 years.

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