Portsmouth Fire Knocks Down Home Blaze

PORTSMOUTH, NH - A home fire on Maplewood Avenue went to three alarms last night with one firefighter reportedly being injured during the two-hour blaze, according to Portsmouth Fire Chief Steven Achilles.

Portsmouth Fire and Rescue teams were sent to 960 Maplewood Avenue at just before 11:30 p.m. on May 28, 2016, after heavy smoke and flames were seen coming from the rear of the house, extending into the first and second floors. Firefighters laid hose and knocked down the fire from the outside; they later entered the residence and began an “aggressive attack” of the fire from the inside.

Mutual aid from Kittery and York ME, Rye, Dover, Exeter, Hampton, Pease Fire, Greenland, New Castle, and North Hampton, all helped at the scene; off-duty Portsmouth firefighters as well as Durham, Rochester, Stratham, and Eliot and Kittery ME firefighters covered the city’s stations.

One firefighter was injured but did not require transportation.

The extent of the damage included heavy fire and smoke damage on both stories and an attached garage.

The single-family home, built in 2001, according to Zillow.com, which sold in 2006 for $675,000, was deemed uninhabitable.

The blaze was under control at just before 1:30 a.m.