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CONCORD, NH – Concord firefighters extinguished an early morning fire at a homeless camp on Friday, the third fire at an encampment in the city this week.
After the Concord Fire Department received a call at 2:21 a.m., Engine 7 arrived to the area at the end of Basin Street along the Merrimack River to find tents in flames, according to the department.
With the help of a forestry truck, firefighters put out the fire and then assisted two people who had been injured, one nearby and another who had made it to the Speedway Gas Station on Hall Street, Fire Chief Sean Brown said.
One person had burn injuries and the other individual had been hurt while trying to obtain water to drown the fire. Both were taken to the hospital.
Concord Fire also responded to fires at a homeless camp located behind Rocky’s Ace Hardware on Loudon Road on both Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, around 5 p.m. on both days.
“No one was around,” Brown said. “They were cooking-related or fires set to keep people warm.” Temperatures in Concord dropped into the high 20s during the night this week.
On Wednesday, trash was burning when firefighters arrived, and on Thursday they found an unattended campfire, Brown said. Engine 7 responded to all three fires.
City authorities recently evacuated a homeless camp near Exit 13 off of Interstate 93 to prepare for a mixed-use development to be built on the north side of the Merrimack River along Manchester Street.
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