City Fire Chief: Bow Street Condos Fire Could Have Been Worse

Portsmouth Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire said several factors prevented Friday night's 5-alarm Bow Street condominium fire from being much worse.

As firefighters from 20 Seacoast area cities and towns continued to mop up the blaze in the roof area of the building, LeClaire said the fact that it was a chimney fire allowed condo residents on the top floor to get out of the building safely.

He said the fire spread from the chimney on the eastern end of the building into the attic portion of the roof. Smoke started to enter into some of the condominium units through the vents and light fixtures and alerted residents they needed to get out of the building.

LeClaire said the fact the fire happened in the early evening hours when most people are still awake was also fortunate. "If this fire happened at 2 a.m., it could have been much worse," he said.

LeClaire said Portsmouth Fire Capt. Mike Hogan and firefighters from Station 1 downtown were the first ones on the scene at 6:32 p.m. and Hogan immediately toned out a working fire. Shortly after 7 p.m., firefighters upgraded the fire as flames shot through the roof and smoke billowed across the lower end of downtown Portsmouth. By 8 p.m., it was a four-alarm fire, which automatically brought firefighters, fire engines and fire apparatus from as many as 20 Seacoast area communities.

"We had firefighters from as far away as Eliot (Maine) to Newburyport (Mass.)," LeClaire said.

It took firefighters more than three hours to knock down the fire in the freezing cold until the blaze was finally extinguished just after 10 p.m. LeClaire said firefighters will be at the scene all night to make sure no hot spots re-ignite the fire.

Overall, LeClaire said he was very pleased with the job that Portsmouth firefighters did initially when they arrived on the scene as well as the other Seacoast area firefighters. "We have a tremendous mutual aid system here on the Seacoast," he said.

LeClaire said the toughest challenge firefighters faced was attacking the flames on top of the roof. He said they had to pull several fire hoses up the stairs of the building to attack the fire from the ground up and also from the ladder truck. Several firefighters also had to position themselves on the roof after a portion of it had collapsed.

LeClaire said the fire easily caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in fire and water damage and he said none of the condominium residents would be able to return to their homes.

The fire also proved to be good theater for dozens of Portsmouth area residents who had originally planned to attend the opening night of "The Vagina Monologues" at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre and ended up standing outside and capturing the firefighters in action with video and photos shot on their cell phones.

Amy Abbott of Portsmouth said she was having dinner at the Agave Mexican restaurant shortly before the fire happened and she and her friends heard the fire engine sirens racing down State Street. When she sent outside, she said she was amazed at how many firefighters from other communities had already arrived on the scene. "I couldn't believe how many of them were there fighting this fire," she said.

Other Portsmouth residents said they were amazed at how they could see the flames coming out of the Bow Street condominium building's roof from State Street and the South End as smoke from the blaze made its way through much of the lower part of downtown from Market Square to Prescott Park.