Occupants escape burning building using third-floor fire escape in Nashua
An apartment building on Cedar Street in Nashua was damaged by fire late Thursday night.
occupants of the three-story, three-unit building at 14 Cedar St. are now displaced following the blaze.
“The third floor residents had to escape via a fire escape,” said Chief Brian Rhodes of Nashua Fire Rescue.
Crews arrived at the scene around 11:30 p.m., at which time all of the occupants were already safely out of the burning building, according to Rhodes.
“They had a heavy volume of fire in the rear and it was extending into the attic at this point,” he said.
It took firefighters about an hour to get the blaze under control, but they worked on hot spots for about another three hours.
Rhodes said crews were unable to easily access the third-floor apartment because the exterior stairwell from the rear of the building had already burned out. In addition, the first ladder truck that arrived had some challenges with accessing the building because of tree branches, he said, explaining several tree limbs had to be cut to gain aerial access to the upper floors.
Crews also had concerns about a nearby unoccupied building at 16 Cedar St. because of its close proximity to the blaze, according to Rhodes. That building did sustain some exterior heat damage to its vinyl siding and garage, he added.
“Thankfully, there were no injuries,” said Rhodes.
The main body of the fire was concentrated in the rear of the building at 14 Cedar St., specifically in the second floor and exterior porch areas, according to a news release. The blaze eventually spread to the third floor and attic area of the structure.
Fire crews from Londonderry and Merrimack assisted Nashua firefighters at the scene.
It is too early to determine if the fire is suspicious, said Rhodes, adding the origin and cause of the blaze is currently under investigation by the Nashua Fire Marshal’s Office.
Investigators remained at the scene on Friday morning studying the situation.
The chief said the building sustained significant damage, however it could potentially be rebuilt. The American Red Cross was called to help provide temporary housing for the eight occupants who have been displaced, said Rhodes.
According to city assessment records, the home, which was constructed in 1920, is owned by RJ Real Estate LLC, and had most recently been assessed at $280,000.
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