An acrid smell of smoke hung thick in the air surrounding the former Boston & Maine Signal Tower on Monday morning.
Firefighters were dispatched on Sunday evening to extinguish a fire at the abandoned 800-square-foot structure, which sits at the bottom of an unkempt wrap-around stairway beneath the Water Street bridge. The historic building between the gasholder and Route 3 has been left vacant since 1985.
The Concord Fire Department received a call about a building fire at the former signal tower at 10:23 p.m. on Sunday. Firefighters arrived three minutes later to meet Concord Police officers, according to a fire incident report. Firefighters entered through an above-ground basement door and contained the fire to the basement as heavy smoke filled the first floor. The fire was “knocked down” within ten minutes of firefighters’ arrival.
The building, now charred from the inside out, was an integral part of Concord’s rail yard during the early 20th-century. It was acquired by rail giant CSX Transportation in 2022. At the time, CSX had “pledged to invest over $100 million into upgrades,” according to a statement by the New Hampshire Historic Preservation Alliance on Monday. Three years later, the structure remained unrestored and was occupied by groups of unhoused individuals.
Concord Fire Prevention is conducting an ongoing investigation to determine the cause of the fire. There were no reported casualties.
Brendilou Armstrong can be reached at barmstrong@cmonitor.com