7-Year-Old Boy Found Dead After Hampton, NH House Fire

HAMPTON, N.H. (CBS) – A 7-year-old boy was found dead early Wednesday morning after a fire at a New Hampshire home.

Flames broke out just before 1 a.m. on Thorwald Ave. and quickly spread to a house next door. Firefighters said they were there in about four minutes.

"Initial companies arrived on scene to find the building heavily engulfed in fire and rapidly extending to the surrounding buildings," said Hampton Fire Capt. Justin Cutting.

Four children and three adults escaped the house but a 7-year-old boy was left behind. Fire crews tried multiple times to get inside and save him but the flames were too intense.

"There was fire showing from all the doors and all the windows," Cutting said.

The boy's body was discovered later and a woman who was living in the home was brought to the hospital for burns and smoke inhalation.

Both homes are likely total losses because of the extent of the damage. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

Friends say one of the homes was the site of a guinea pig sanctuary. Sixteen guinea pigs were rescued from the fire, though others died.