Early Morning Penacook Arson Incident Under Investigation

PENACOOK, NH — Concord firefighters and police are asking for the public’s help investigating an apartment fire on Sunday morning at the Penwood Apartments in Penacook, according to a Concord Regional Crimeline alert. Firefighters were sent to the area of Penwood Drive and Lilac Street for a building fire at around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 28, 2016, that was seen two blocks away on Fifield Street, according to a press statement by Lt. Timothy O’Malley, the commander of the criminal investigations unit for the department. Firefighters and police located the fire on the west side of the Building 8 apartment building on Penwood Drive, along a staircase that was full engulfed in flames.

“Residents of this building had already evacuated prior to their arrival,” O’Malley stated. “Concord Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames and very soon after determined that the fire was suspicious. Further investigation revealed that several burn marks were present on the north and west sides of the building. These burn marks appeared to have been made with some type of lighter.”

Some neighbors, according to O’Malley, reported “several fires” in the area of the building during the past few months. Police took a report back in June about two suspicious fires near a dumpster on the property, he noted.

“Both the Concord Police Department and Concord Fire Department are actively investigating this fire as arson,” O’Malley added.

Anyone with information about these fires is being asked to call the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100, or submit information online to the website at concordregionalcrimeline.com or Txt TIP234 and their message to CRIMES (274637).