At least ten Concord Fire Department vehicles dotted a lawn at the Edgewood Heights housing complex as emergency services responded to reports of a blaze late Wednesday morning.
Concord Fire Chief John Chisholm said he had no knowledge of any injuries sustained in the fire, which began in a second-floor unit of the occupied apartment building.
“When there is a fire, there’s a lot of tasks that need to be done simultaneously. You have to search for victims. You have to extinguish the fire with hoses, and you also have to ventilate to give the toxic gases and heat a place to go,” Chisholm said. “That’s why there’s so many [emergency responders]. This is a particular high hazard just because of the number of people in a small space.”
Chisholm said the fire department received the dispatch at 10:33 a.m., and Engine 7 arrived at Edgewood Heights three minutes later. Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.
The Concord fire marshal was still investigating the cause and origin of the fire as of Wednesday afternoon. Chisholm said the quality of the smoke indicated that furniture or carpeting with plastic components were among the damaged items.
“There was a lot of very, very thick black smoke, so there was zero visibility,” Chisholm said.
Residents of the building, which houses Edgewood Heights suites 49 through 72, re-entered the structure when officials determined there was no longer an active risk to human health. But Chisholm said there may still be residents whose units are uninhabitable.
He said the fire department reached out to the Red Cross of Northern New England “just in case there are people that can’t go back into their apartments because of smoke damage or other reasons.” The Red Cross could not immediately be reached for comment.
A fire in a populated residential community presents unique challenges.
“In a complex like this, or in a daytime fire, it can be challenging because not everybody’s home; people are out at work or doing other things. They might not even know,” Chisholm said. “So we may not have all the information we need to get to the Red Cross, or we may not have contact with all the occupants that would need to make a decision.”
Chisholm said the fire department will work with the property’s management to communicate the details of the department’s response and the extent of the damage the building sustained. Edgewood Heights hosts multiple structures, including free-standing single-family homes and at least two other apartment buildings.
Joe Chiccarelli, whom residents identified as the property manager, declined to comment.
