Dyson Street fire sparked by careless smoking on ‘squatter’s mattress’ in basement

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Crews responded to a fire at 24 Dyson St. on Friday. Photo/Jeffrey Hastings

MANCHESTER, NH — Fire officials say the cause of a blaze Friday on Dyson Street was due to improper smoking materials left on a ‘squatter’s mattress’ set up illegally in a basement.

The fire at 24 Dyson St. was reported just after 10 a.m. on Jan. 3. Smoke alarms were triggered by smoke in the building coming from the basement. Crews arrived as some of the residents were self-evacuating the building, but other residents had to be evacuated.

Crews discovered a fire in the basement. A hose line was advanced into the basement to extinguish the fire while additional crews searched for additional occupants or pets. Additional arriving crews ventilated the residence. Due to the rapid notification of the fire department and the quick and efficient response crews were able to extinguish the fire before it consumed the living areas of the building. Because of this response no residents were displaced for more than several hours.Screenshot 2020 01 03 at 4.00.59 PM


According to District Chief Michael Gamache, the fire was caused by improper smoking materials on a squatter’s mattress in the basement that was being used as an illegal sleeping area.  Along with the illegal sleeping area, both front and rear stairwells were full of storage making both ingress and egress difficult.  The landlord will be working to get the egress paths clear and secure the basement area.  The fire is being classified as accidental in nature.  The smoke alarms in the building were operating, making the occupants aware of the smoke condition in the structure.

Cost of damages was estimated at $2,500.

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Manchester Fire Department

The mission of the Manchester Fire Department is to provide the City of Manchester with superior customer service and integrated emergency response to any situation that threatens the life, safety and well-being of people and property.

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