Portsmouth Fire Tackles Apartment Blaze

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Portsmouth Fire and Rescue teams were sent to a fire on 664 State St., at an eight-unit apartment building this morning, according to Portsmouth Fire Chief Steve Achilles.

The fire was reported at just before 3 a.m. on July 23, 2016, and was under control about 35 minutes later. When the teams arrived, they found fire coming from the third floor exterior window and wooden fire escape. The fire extended into the interior apartment and roof.

The first units knocked down the fire from the outside and entered the building to notify and evacuate all the occupants, he noted. There was “significant damage to the apartment’s interior wall and exterior wall,” Achilles stated, as well as damage to the ceiling and exterior landing of the fire escape.

The fire was a single alarm. Units from Kittery, ME, Rye, and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard assisted while Newington and North Hampton firefighters covered the city for Portsmouth.

The cause appears to be accidental but is still under investigation.