NASHUA, N.H. --
A Nashua woman and her infant son were able to escape injury Tuesday after a fire nearly destroyed their home on Blackfoot Drive.
Family members said the woman was in the shower and was unaware that flames were starting to spread through the house at about 9:50 a.m. A contractor doing some renovation work saw the flames and ran inside to get the woman and her 1-month-old baby out.
"The main thing was the children, was that my daughter-in-law and the baby were out," said Theresa Corriveau, the woman's mother-in-law. "We thought the other girls were there, but they were at day care. So they're safe, they're sound, and everything will be OK."
Firefighters said the fire had spread significantly by the time they arrived.
"We had a lot of heavy fire on arrival," Assistant Chief Keith Anderson said. "We immediately went to a second alarm and called in some more manpower as the fire started to spread."
Neighbor Peter Nelson saw the smoke and videotaped as the fire went to three alarms and was finally brought under control.
"Smoke came out all the windows. Flames started to come out of the second floor," Nelson said. "They started breaking the windows, and when they opened the roof, flames came leaping out of the roof."
The family had lived in the home for less than two years. Firefighters said the cause is still under investigation, but the building is considered almost a total loss.
"It's gone," Corriveau said. "Most of the house is gone. The whole back is gone. It doesn't look good."
One firefighter was injured during the fire. He was treated at a local hospital and released.
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