Farmington fire leads to minor injuries to residents, heat illnesses in first responders

FARMINGTON – A woman was injured after jumping from her second-floor apartment to escape a fire in Farmington on Saturday. The fire displaced tenants living at the Grove Street residence and several first-responders needed treatment for heat-related illnesses.

The fire was reported shortly after 9:30 a.m. on one of the hottest days of last week's heat wave, and it quickly went to three alarms. Farmington Fire Chief James Reinert said the building is a total loss and was deemed uninhabitable.

The early 20th century home at 37 Grove St. was split into three apartments and was home to nine individuals, Reinert said. Everyone in the building got out, but there were some minor injuries. The woman who jumped from the second floor to escape is recovering from minor injuries to her wrist and ribs, but is otherwise expected to be OK, Reinert said.

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The fire victims weren’t the only ones treated that day. Reinert said that a few fire personnel were treated on scene or taken to local hospitals for heat-related illnesses. Several other local departments were brought in to help relieve firefighters who were fatigued from the heat. Three firefighters and one police officer were evaluated for heat-related injuries. By the time the first crew arrived that morning, Reinert said temperatures were already in the 90s, which made their jobs more dangerous.

“It went to a third-alarm for more manpower,” Reinert said. “The heat was hampering our crew’s ability to continue extinguishing for long periods of time. We needed to keep them rotating and hydrated.”

Reinert said that the fire appeared to have started outside, based on how heavy the fire was concentrated on the front of the building. The cause of the fire is still unknown, but Reinert said at this time it appears to be accidental. It remains under investigation by the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal's Office.

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While the heavy fire in the front of the building was knocked out fairly quickly, Reinert said that due to the age of the building and its balloon-frame construction, it spread into the walls and traveled up to the third floor. This hindered their ability to efficiently fully extinguish it, he said.

“Once it gets into the walls, there's nothing to stop it moving from floor to floor,” Reinert said. “Once we got the visible fire knocked down on the outside, we had to focus what was already in the walls moving up into the attic space.”

Personnel from Barnstead, Barrington, Gilmanton, Lebanon, ME,  Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Rochester, Somersworth, Strafford, Wakefield and Wolfeboro departments assisted Farmington’s crew, in addition to Stewart's Ambulance and local law enforcement.

The Red Cross was contacted to connect residents with services, Reinert said.

Reinert urged caution as hot temperatures and drought conditions persist. He advised making sure smoke detectors are working and when outside with fire, whether that is smoking a cigarette or grilling dinner, that the fire is extinguished properly and kept away from buildings.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Farmington NH fire displaces 9 residents at 37 Grove St.