Efforts to thaw pipes led to the Feb. 3 fire that destroyed a Whitefield farmhouse, Sgt. Ken Grimes of the State Fire Marshal’s Office said Feb. 5. The fire at 5 Hilton Road was termed accidental, Grimes said. Meanwhile, the cause is undetermined on a fire one day earlier that destroyed a home in nearby Jefferson, Grimes said in a telephone interview.

Nothing at this time indicates the Feb. 2 fire at 313 Rockland Road in Jefferson was anything other than an accident, the investigator said. “(The cause is) undetermined due to the extent of the damage.” The home’s owner had been using heaters in the home, but it was not known if a problem occurred with them that resulted in the fire, Grimes said.

The Whitefield fire started after one of the home’s residents had worked to thaw pipes near where the barn connected to the farmhouse’s ell, Grimes said. The resident left afterward and the fire was discovered later; Grimes recommended that anyone thawing pipes monitor the area for hours afterward to make sure no fire has ignited on nearby materials.

Both fires occurred around the time the region had a stretch of stormy and cold winter weather, making conditions difficult for area fire departments that worked to put out the fires.