Concord Ledger

The four-alarm fire on Harbor Avenue in Nashua earlier this month, which caused heavy damage to an auto shop and threatened a neighboring apartment building, remains under investigation, according to The Telegraph.

Debris fell through of the ceiling at State Auto Repair and landed on vehicles in the the garage bays, The Telegraph reported on Sept. 5. The coverage also included images of Nashua Fire Rescue Chief Brian Rhodes conferring with a fire inspector in the immediate aftermath of the fire and heavy smoke billowing over Harbor Avenue and East Otterson Street.

Crews were called to the scene at about 11 a.m. on Sept. 3, where they faced initial challenges, according to WMUR9.

Chief Brian Rhodes | Nashuanh.gov

"Just the access with wires, and with the people still in that apartment building, we had a lot of evacuating to do at the very beginning, while we were still trying to get hose lines in place, and it was a heavy fire condition on arrival," Nashua Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Kevin Kerrigan told WMUR9.

Kerrigan could see smoke and fire while he still was en route to the call and before the second alarm was called, as the fire then was spreading quickly, according to Nashua Patch.

Rhodes arrived at the scene, and the fourth alarm for additional manpower to fight the fire and assist with evacuations was called. Firefighters used streams of water to protect the adjacent apartment building while other crews battled the fire at the auto service station.

Nashua Fire Rescue posted images of the department's response to the Harbor Avenue fire to its Twitter page. "Companies had advanced fire conditions upon arrival with fire extending into a second building," the department said in its Sept. 3 Tweet. "Thank you to all of our partners for their support and assistance during the incident."

Red Cross of Northern New England's disaster action team also responded to the fire, according to a Sept. 3 Tweet. The fire department received help from towns and cities from Southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to Nashua Patch.

Everyone was evacuated safely and crews put out the fire, which ultimately displaced four families. In all, 20 people were evacuated from a 16-unit apartment building.