Canobie Lake Park Fire Put Out By Salem FD, Partners

SALEM, NH — The Salem Fire Department said leaf clean-up equipment likely was responsible for a fire Thursday morning at Canobie Lake Park.

The blaze broke out around 11 a.m. in a building near the amusement park's Ferris wheel, the department said.

The fire was put out by Salem FD firefighters, members of the Windham Fire Department and Salem Police Department officers who happened to be nearby, according to authorities.

Fire officials said the fire caused several thousand dollars in structural damage and that six people were evaluated for smoke exposure and minor burns at the scene, but nobody required hospitalization.

According to the Salem FD, at 11 a.m., the department's Dispatch Center began receiving 911 calls about a fire at Canobie Lake Park.

Fire officials said the department already had received four different, unrelated emergency calls in the previous 24 minutes. As a result, the department's normal building fire apparatus response was unavailable, the Salem FD said.

The department said it sent its available trucks to the scene, but requested a mutual aid engine from the Windham Fire Department.

The Salem PD happened to be conducting training exercises in the parking lot of the amusement park, and its officers were notified about the fire by Canobie Lake Park staff, according to authorities.

Prior to the arrival of the Salem FD, multiple Salem PD officers removed fire extinguishers from their vehicles and used them to control the spread of the fire, authorities said.

The Salem Fire Department arrived on the scene at 11:04 a.m. and discovered that a mobile landscaping unit was on fire and that the flames had spread to the exterior of the building, fire officials said. Some flames also had spread to the interior of the building, according to authorities.

Fire officials said Salem Engine 1, Salem's Tower Ladder 1 and a Windham Engine managed to use two hose lines to extinguish the blaze.

"Thank you to the Salem Police Department and our mutual aid partners for your assistance. We appreciate it," the Salem FD said in a statement.

The Methuen Fire Department and some off-duty Salem firefighters provided station coverage during the Canobie Lake Park fire, according to the Salem FD.

Salem fire officials said the blaze remains under investigation, but a preliminary investigation indicates that it was caused by the operation of leaf clean-up equipment.