Merrimack Fire and Rescue Battles Blaze on Columbia Circle

MERRIMACK, NH - Earlier this morning, Merrimack Fire and Rescue teams battled a blaze at a local business on Columbia Circle, according to a report. 

The structure fire - at APS Lighting, Sound and AV - was first reported at just before 5:45 a.m. on June 16, 2016, according to Fire Marshal John Manuele, after a Merrimack Police officer was called to the building for an alarm activation and found the door to the building "hot to the touch." The building, according to Manuele, is a 12-unit office condominium without sprinkler or fire alarm protection. 

Merrimack Engines 1 and 2, Ambulance 1, Fire Chief Currier and Manuele all responded. Engine 1 was on scene at 5:47 a.m. and saw "heavy smoke filling the unit." Captain Gagne ordered a working fire dispatch be sent bringing in a mutual aid engine and ladder from Nashua to the scene and an engine from Manchester to cover Merrimack's empty stations. 

"Engine 1’s crew quickly forced open the front door and found the fire in an interior office," Manuele noted. "The crew was able to extinguish the fire before it could spread to the rest of the unit. The fire was declared under control at 6:05 a.m. and crews began an extensive overhaul and vented the building of smoke."

Because of the quick knock down, fire damage was confined to the front of unit 901 with heat and smoke damage to the front of unit 902.

The cause of the fire was determined to be  electrical, due to a malfunction in a power strip. There were no injuries. All units cleared the scene by 7:05 a.m.