MANCHESTER, NH — Manchester police were on Lowell Street investigating a burglar alarm Friday at the St. Joseph’s Library at the corner of Union when they discovered smoke from a nearby building — which turned out to be St. Joseph’s Cathedral.
Manchester fire was notified at 5:20 a.m. and arrived to the scene and found an odor of smoke in the building but no visible fire. Firefighters searched the rectory building attached to the cathedral and discovered a fire in a basement under the rectory. Additional apparatus were requested to the scene, and firefighters worked to extinguish the fire.
MFD District Chief Jim Michaels said to access the basement area, firefighters had to locate a trap door located under a couch causing a delay. When firefighters entered the basement, they had items burning around a dehumidifier. Firefighters used fans to eject smoke from the building and checked the basement for extension from the original fire.
The area where the fire occurred had several shelves holding various archive items belonging to the church.
In a statement issued Friday morning by the diocese, Fr. Jason Jalbert, Rector and Pastor of Saint Joseph Cathedral, said the cause of the fire was a malfunctioning electrical device, and acknowledged the swift response by Manchester Fire Department.
“No one was injured in the incident. The Rectory suffered some smoke and water damage but remains habitable, and the Cathedral itself was never in danger,” Fr. Jalbert said.
“While we have a lot of cleaning up to do, nobody was hurt and that is the most important thing. I am incredibly grateful to the Manchester Fire Department for their swift response, which kept the damage to a minimum,” he said.
Jeffrey Hastings contributed to this report.
