Firefighters Called to Concord Steam

Concord Fire and Rescue teams were called to Concord Steam on Pleasant Street on the state hospital grounds at around 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 12, for a report of flames coming from the roof of the building.

According to Fire Chief Dan Andrus, equipment on the roof of the building appeared to be the cause of the fire. The state fire marshal was at the scene investigating the cause of the fire, he said, and is expected to report on the matter later today.

“It was a pretty small incident,” Andrus said.

The fire was out by a little before 1:30 p.m., according to Andrus. According to scanner chatter, all of Concord’s firefighters had returned to their command units by 1:50 p.m.

At 2:05 p.m., workers at the plant were seen unloading what looked to be charred wooden beams from the roof of one of the side buildings into the flatbed of a pickup truck.

Concord Steam is a wood fired cogeneration plant that provides heat and electricity to a number of facilities across the city including school buildings, parts of the South End, and Downtown Concord. The company is in the process of attempting to build a new plant in the South End.

Andrus said while it was a pretty old plant and the company was attempting to replace it, “they’ve always been very good to work with” and the department doesn’t have any concerns about problems at the plant.

Firefighters from Allenstown, Bow, Boscawen, Pembroke, and Penacook Rescue covered Concord while the firefighters were at Concord Steam, according to Andrus.