SEABROOK – A local family is trying to put their lives back together after a weekend fire damaged their home and destroyed their garage and only vehicle, all uninsured.

According to Aimee Eaton, around dinner time on Saturday, a fire broke out in the detached garage next to the home she shares with her husband, Eric Lessard, and their three children on Lower Collins Street. Within minutes, she said, it spread to the family car, the heat and flames so intense Lessard couldn’t get near the vehicle to move it away.

Fortunately, the family was quickly able to escape to safety, she said, even her two dogs and two cats remain unharmed.

By the time Seabrook Fire Department and those from neighboring communities could put the fire out, the garage was burned to a black skeleton and the car totaled. Thankfully the modular home was saved, Eaton said, but its siding melted from the heat, one of the walls is in need of repair and their electric service – connected through the garage – restored.

“The house is salvageable, but it needs work before we can move back in,” Eaton said. “All our storage was in the garage. All the family mementos and all the baby’s winter clothes and things are gone. And my husband’s tools were all in the garage.”

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According to Seabrook Fire Capt. Seth Coleman, high temperatures made fighting the fire a challenge, and he called in numerous fire departments from surrounding communities so firefighters could be rotated frequently to avoid heat stroke and exhaustion. Coleman said no firefighters were injured during the response.

Coleman said currently the cause of the fire is listed as undetermined, but bystanders said they heard the sound of a pop from inside the garage, followed quickly by smoke and flames. By the time fire crews arrived, Coleman said the garage was fully involved.

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It took about a half hour to contain the blaze, he said, and about another hour to wrap things up, Coleman said. He estimated the property incurred more than $100,000 in damages.

Although firefighters kept the fire from devouring other nearby residences, Coleman said, some neighboring homes experienced melted siding due to the radiating heat of the blaze.  

Since the family can’t return to the home until repairs are made, Coleman reached out to the local Red Cross chapter. Eaton said the organization put the family up at the Seabrook’s Best Western, however, that’s temporary.

The lack of insurance makes attending to repairs and getting back into their home problematic, she said.

“I was in the process of getting insurance on our house,” Eaton said. “And I only had liability on our car.”

Eaton’s cousin, Sarah Cashman, set up a GoFundMe page for the family, hoping the community will help out. Those interested can make a donation at https://gofund.me/930f821a.

Eaton extended her sincere thanks and appreciation to all the firefighters and police officers who went to the family’s aid on Saturday afternoon.

According to Coleman, fire crews and equipment from Newburyport, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Rye, as well as Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts help put out the blaze, while Portsmouth, Kensington and East Kingston sent equipment and men to cover Seabrook Fire Station.