Crime & Safety

Structure Fire Damages Home, Displaces 10

A fire at 16-18 Hunniford St. caused severe damage to the home, which has been declared uninhabitable.

A structure fire caused heavy damage to the two-family, side-by-side home at 16-18 Hunniford St. Saturday morning.

No one was injuried, but the fire severely damaged the structure and left the 10 residents of the attached building without a home. The said the fire's cause and origin are still under investigation by the town fire marshal. Fire department officials believe that the fire started outside the building, according to a press release.

All of the residents were home Saturday when the fire was initially spotted by an 11-year-old child from the number 18 side of the building, the release said. The child reported the fire to his parents, including Fawiz Junood Ahmed, the tenant of record.

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Attempts to put out the blaze, which appeared to be a brush fire at that point, by Ahmed and his wife were thought to be successful. But soon after Ahmed heard a loud noise coming from the building's exterior wooden chimney. He then saw fire and smoke coming from both the chimney structure and the building's basement.

At that point, the family evacuated, called 911 and alerted the tenants of the number 16 side of the building, who also escaped without injury.

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Firefighters reported heavy fire at the rear of the building, extending into the attic and the second-floor interior wall that separates the two living areas. A ventilation hole was cut in the roof to let smoke and hot gases escape. The exterior wooden chimney was also collapsed as a safety precaution.

Strong winds forced the firefighters to use more labor-intensive ground ladders when accessing the roof and facilitated the fire's spread from outside the home to inside. However, the winds also prevented the fire's lateral spread across the building's exterior.

The fire was called in shortly after 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The efforts of 21 firefighters, six trucks and three hose lines resulted in the scene being declared under control shortly before 10 a.m. and clear by 12:08 p.m.

The building was declared uninhabitable and the families are receiving short-term assistance from Manchester Emergency Management, the American Red Cross and Manchester Human Services.


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