1 firefighter injured, 9 displaced by fire started by gas space heater

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AMR first responders stand by while Manchester Fire crews knock down a fire at 297 Concord Street on Saturday.
AMR first responders stand by while Manchester Fire crews knock down a fire at 297 Concord Street on Saturday.

MANCHESTER, NH – A Manchester firefighter was injured and nine people displaced from their apartments after a fire Saturday, apparently caused by items too close to a gas space heater inside a Concord Street apartment building.

A resident stands outside the apartment, wrapped in a thin blanket against the chill and snowfall.
A resident stands outside the apartment, wrapped in a thin blanket against the chill and snowfall.

Crews were dispatched at 10:20 a.m. to the fire call at 297 Concord Street, a three-story multi-family wood frame 15-unit apartment building.

According to District Chief Richard McGahey, the fire was quickly knocked down, due in part to the swift arrival of Engine 11, which had just cleared a call on Union Street and was already in the neighborhood.

Upon arrival, crews reported that smoke was showing from the second floor front side. They extinguished the fire, while a crew from Truck 1 vented the apartment by breaking out the front windows. All other fire companies were directed to evacuate residents from the structure, about 30 in all. The fire was brought under control at 10:44 and all residents were accounted for, McGahey said..

A firefighter sticks his head out a window that had been knocked out to vent the blaze at 297 Concord St.
A firefighter sticks his head out a window that had been knocked out to vent the blaze at 297 Concord St.

Three units of the building were left uninhabitable for three families, or a total of 9 people, who were being assisted with temporary provisions by the American Red Cross.

Firefighter Joe Monroe was treated and released from Elliot Hospital for a compression injury to his right hand.

McGahey said the Welcome Home rooming house, 286 Concord St., helped to get residents out of the cold and inside where they could stay warm while firefighters worked the blaze.

Following initial investigation, the fire was deemed unintentional, and appears to have been caused by combustibles placed too close to a parlor heater, McGahey said.

 

About this Author

Carol Robidoux

PublisherManchester Ink Link

Longtime NH journalist and publisher of ManchesterInkLink.com. Loves R&B, German beer, and the Queen City!