An early-morning fire leveled an empty Drake Road home bringing firefighters from as far away as Campton and Thornton to battle the two-alarm blaze.

New Hampton Fire Chief Mike Drake, said the home, which belonged to his uncle, was damaged by a fire back in the 1990s and had been vacant ever since.

He said his uncle, whose health has not been good, had just started rebuilding the two-story home when it was gutted by Saturday's fire.

Drake said he and the N.H. Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the blaze, which he called "very suspicious."

"There have been some issues with vandalism and stuff in the past," said Drake.

He said the fire department was notified at 4:03 a.m. Saturday by someone delivering newspapers. Drake called immediately for a second alarm, but said the structure had fire showing from all sides before the first trucks even arrived on the scene.

"We didn't want to commit any crews," said Drake who said firefighters also had some trouble getting water to the rural site. A two-car garage nearby was undamaged.

Assisting New Hampton were firefighters from Bristol, Ashland, Sanbornton, Plymouth, Meredith, Alexandria, Holderness, Tilton-Northfield and Campton-Thornton.