CLAREMONT, NH—On January 16, at 3:49 p.m., the Claremont Fire Department responded with an engine and a ladder to 67 Maple Avenue, also known as the Earl Bourdon Centre Box 0345 for an automatic fire alarm sounding. While fire apparatus was responding, the city’s emergency dispatch center radioed the responding fire apparatus that a fire was detected in the main entrance to the building’s first floor lobby.
The first fire apparatus was on scene at 3:54 p.m. and reported heavy fire showing from the main entrance of the building. At 3:56 p.m., the first arriving fire officer requested a 1st Alarm, recalling all Claremont Fire personnel to the scene. Mutual aid from Ascutney, Newport and Charlestown Fire Departments was also requested to respond to the scene. The fire was extinguished quickly and deemed under control shortly after 4:30 p.m.. Crews checked the buildings for extension and found that the fire was contained to the area of the main entrance of the building’s lobby entrance. The building did sustain smoke conditions throughout the main hallways of the three-level complex. Fire fighters were able to eject the smoke condition using high powered smoke ejectors to clear the condition. None of the 80 living units of the Bourdon Centre was affected by fire or smoke, though all occupants were evacuated during the initial alarm sounding in the building. By 7:30 p.m. all floors were clear of smoke and residents were allowed to reenter and return to their living units.
Fire fighters will remain on scene throughout the night and into the next morning as a precaution, reported Claremont Fire Chief Bryan Burr.
The cause of the fire is under investigation and is not considered suspicious. The department will continue to review evidence and make a determination at a later date, said Burr.
“The Claremont Fire Department would like to thank the mutual aid departments that provided assistance, including the Claremont Police Department, Claremont Safety Services Dispatch Center, Golden Cross Ambulance, Department of Public Works-Water Division and the management of the Earl Bourdon Centre. Without their assistance this incident would not have had as successful of an outcome,” said Burr.
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