Fire damages Greenville factory

GREENVILLE – An overnight fire badly damaged a 13,500-square-foot factory that makes pre-cast cement products, but nobody was hurt and the family-owned company will continue operations.

The fire was reported in the main plant of Lamarre Concrete Products, Adams Hill Road, at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, said Greenville Fire Chief Larry Legere. Crews from six neighboring towns, including Ashby, Mass., responded before the fire was under control two hours later.

The heat in the metal, two-story factory was so intense that Legere was worried about steel beams being weakened and wouldn’t allow firefighters to get onto the roof while battling the blaze.

The cause is still under investigation.

No one was in the building at the time, said Production Manager Russ Lamarre. He, one brother and two sisters run the company, which is owned by their father, William Lamarre.

Lamarre Concrete has 15 employees and annual sales nearing the $4 million mark. It has been in Greenville since 1989, when it moved north from Chelmsford, Mass.

General Manger Mike Lamarre said crews would be shifted to delivering inventory such as concrete steps, manholes and septic tanks while the extent of damage was determined. If necessary, he said, production could be shifted outside while the building is repaired.

“We’ve been outside before,” he said.

Mike Lamarre is a Greenville selectman.

David Brooks can be reached at 594-5831 or brooksd@telegraph-nh.com.