Concord House Fire On Rumford Street Goes To 3-Alarms: Watch

CONCORD, NH — A building fire on Rumford Street between Centre and School streets went to three alarms on Saturday.

Capital region dispatch began receiving calls about the fire around 12:15 a.m. One firefighter, before arriving, said there was a fire hydrant nearby that they could tap into. Police, who arrived first, told dispatch residents were jumping from windows, according to scanner chatter.

A working fire was called, requesting more firefighters, and a second alarm was rung. Firefighters also reported possible exposure to other buildings. Boscawen, Bow, Chichester, Hooksett, Hopkinton, Loudon, and Pembroke firefighters and EMTs were all requested to assist at just before 12:30 a.m.

Firefighters had an issue with one of the hoses, according to scanner chatter. Command said they would be “breaking this line down” to “start over.”

Later, a hydrant burst, causing more issues. Firefighters could be heard reporting that they were not getting water into the lines to fight the fire. The fire commander requested firefighters to hold their positions as they worked to find a solution. One firefighter reported running out of tank water and a third alarm was called at 12:36 a.m. This brought more firefighters from Hopkinton and Loudon as well as Epsom and Manchester.

Stefanie Breton, a public information officer with the city of Concord, said the hydrant, which was the primary water source at the time, failed and unearthed itself spontaneously.

A few minutes later, firefighters reported water from two other hydrants being pumped into hoses while firefighters attacked the fire inside the building.

"On-scene crews were able to quickly switch to a different hydrant and replace the attack line," she said. "The bulk of the fire was then controlled and it to took a few additional hours to find and extinguish spot fires throughout the building."

At 12:49 a.m., mutual aid was requested to the city. This brought Tilton-Northfield EMTs to the Manor Station, Franklin EMTs and Penacook Rescue to Central, and Henniker firefighters to the Broadway station, and Pittsfield firefighters to the Heights station. The Tri-Town Ambulance also assisted.

Most of the fire crews left the scene at around 4:30 a.m. An investigation into the cause of the fire began Saturday. One resident was taken to Concord Hospital while firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, Breton said.

Initial reports online stated the fire was four alarms. But Breton said in a statement the fire was three alarms.

NEWS 603 posted multiple videos on Facebook.

While firefighters were battling the blaze, a hydrant burst.

The burst hydrant appeared to hamper efforts.

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