MANCHESTER, NH – A porch fire at a multi-family on Brook Street was caused by careless disposal of smoking materials into a flower planter, fire officials said.
The fire at 96 Brook St. was reported at about 6 p.m. on July 27. Crews arrived to find fire on the second-floor porch of a three-story tenement, with fire spreading toward the third-floor porches. Two passers-by noticed the blaze and reported it to 911, then used a garden hose on the fire. Fire crews arrived and finished extinguishing the blaze.
No injuries were reported.
District Fire Chief Michael Gamache credited the two who reported the fire and a rapid response by Manchester Fire Department with keeping the fire from consuming the porches.
Gamache said the cause of the fire appears to be accidental due to the careless disposal of smoking materials in a flower planter on the second-floor porch. Damages were estimated at $5000.
