LINCOLN, NH — There is “no longer an elevated risk” of contracting Legionnaire’s disease in Lincoln after seven people became infected by bacteria in a cooling tower in town over the summer, New Hampshire health officials said Wednesday.
Legionnaire’s disease is a bacterial pneumonia caused by inhaling water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said. Initially, officials said that five diagnoses were made in June and July, but they added Wednesday that two additional cases have since been confirmed. All seven people were exposed to contaminated water droplets from a cooling tower behind the RiverWalk Resort downtown, according to officials.
The cooling tower underwent a cleaning and disinfecting process, after which testing conducted by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services confirmed that “remediation efforts to eliminate Legionella bacteria were successful,” officials said.
The cleaning took place on Aug. 12, and water samples were collected for additional testing.
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“Test results, which were received today, confirm the effectiveness of the facility’s cleaning and disinfection process with negative results for Legionella,” officials said Wednesday. “RiverWalk continues to partner with DHHS and NHDES on a water management plan to prevent future contamination or bacterial re-growth.”
The health department said it will investigate any other diagnoses with a potential link to the area.
“The negative test results received today are good news and demonstrate the effectiveness of the cleaning and disinfection of the cooling tower,” Dr. Benjamin Chan, New Hampshire State Epidemiologist, said Wednesday. “Therefore, we do not believe there is currently an elevated risk for Legionella infection from this cooling tower, and we will continue to monitor and work with the facility to ensure an appropriate management plan is in place to prevent future contamination or re-growth of the bacteria.”
Legionella are naturally occurring environmental bacteria that can grow in water systems and infect people who breathe in contaminated water droplets from showers, hot tubs, faucets, cooling towers, misters, and decorative fountains, according to health officials.
People and businesses can prevent waterborne germs from growing in water sources by properly cleaning and maintining all devices that use water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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