Fire in Dover: New York Street duplex residents displaced

DOVER — Residents of a two-family home have been temporarily displaced after a three-alarm fire ripped through it Sunday before being knocked down by firefighters from around the region.

The blaze at 15 New York St. was reported to Dover Fire and Rescue at 8:15 a.m., according to city Deputy Fire Chief Craig Chabot.

Perry Plummer , interim chief of Dover Fire and Rescue, said the fire began in the lower level before spreading upward.

“When crews got there they had heavy fire showing from the right side of the building, which was the kitchen and enclosed porch area that had extended into the third floor and attic,” he said Monday. “They made a great knockdown of the initial fire which allowed crews to attack it from the outside. Then it was a process.”

The tenants of the building were outside and safe from harm’s way by the time firefighters arrived on scene, according to Plummer. The Red Cross was in contact with those temproarily displaced from the property.

Assessing the building, Plummer believes it could eventually be habitable again.

“It has extensive damage and will need some work, but I wouldn’t call it a total loss,” he said.

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The scene was cleared at 1:21 p.m. Sunday and a fire watch was held over the next few hours as a precaution, Deputy Chief Chabot added.

No injuries were sustained by any tenants, neighbors or firefighters. The cause of the fire remains under investigation but appears to be accidental, according to Plummer.

The fire caused smoke damage to the building next door.

“There was some extension to the eaves of the building next door which caused some smoke damage to that building that they’re going to have cleaned up,” Plummer said.

Mutual aid was provided by fire departments from Barrington, Durham, Lee, Newington, Newmarket, Pease Air National Guard Base, Portsmouth, Rochester, Rollinsford and Somersworth in New Hampshire, along with McGregor Memorial EMS and Stewart’s Ambulance Service. From Maine, fire crews from Berwick and South Berwick also provided mutual aid.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Fire in Dover: New York Street duplex residents displaced