Story by MICHAEL COUSINEAU
Courtesy The Union Leader
Photos By Andy Biron
More than 100 Manchester firefighters fought a fast-moving blaze at an
inner-city apartment building last night that left as many as 55 people
homeless.
Gracie Barriendos was sleeping in her first-floor apartment when a
neighbor ran to her door at 178 Spruce St. at about 7 p.m.
"A lady said, ‘Can you please call the fire department? My house is on
fire,’ " said Barriendos, wrapped in a blanket and wearing borrowed shoes.
Clothing or blankets left on an electric space heater sparked the fire in
the first-floor middle apartment, Deputy Fire Chief David Albin said late
last night.
One firefighter, Thomas Potvin, was injured in the foot and knee by a fire
hose that struck him. He was taken to Elliot Hospital.
About 125-150 firefighters were called in to work the blaze. The smoke was
visible more than a mile away.
It took firefighters more than two hours to determine if everyone escaped.
"Everyone that was inside the structure has been located on the outside,"
Fire Chief Joe Kane said late last night.
The four-alarm fire severely damaged the nine-unit building.
"It’s an extremely fast-moving fire," Kane said. "It took four apartments
in a matter of minutes."
Firefighters at one point were ordered out of the building to avoid
further danger and to protect nearby structures, Kane said.
"We pulled all the firefighters out and went into a defensive mode," he
said.
All off-duty firefighters were called in while crews from surrounding
towns covered the Manchester fire stations, Kane said.
Albin said he heard up to 55 people were left homeless. The American Red
Cross was taking care of about 40 people from the burned-out building and
nearby buildings a few blocks away at the Manchester Community Resource
Center on Lake Avenue.
Fire victims were given warm clothes and beverages while Red Cross workers
arranged shelter. One infant received milk in a bottle.
The fire came exactly a month after an Elm Street blaze Dec. 23 left
firefighter David Anderson and two teenage brothers dead.
"You’re always concerned about firefighters getting hurt, especially on a
night like this," Kane said. "That’s always on your mind."
Chuck Kalantzis was visiting his parents who live next door to the fire
scene. He heard an explosion.
"I looked out the window and all of a sudden there was fire from the first
floor," he said. "Scary. You could feel the warmth."
Barriendos was home with six relatives, including her two sons.
"I heard everybody screaming from the third floor to the first floor," she
said. "I didn’t have time to get my shoes."
"I was crying, looking for everybody to get out," Barriendos said.
Rego Garcia, who also lives in the first floor, said he was in his kitchen
and he went into his room and it was ablaze.
"He said he got out right away. He said he wasn’t going to die here,"
Garcia said with help from Barriendos interpreting.
Six ladder trucks rose into the sky, battling the fire from several sides.
The white smoke rose into the black cloudless night.
Much of the building’s white exterior was blackened from the fire. The sky
could be seen through the charred roof.
"The center part of the building is in a state of collapse," Kane said.
Power was turned off for the entire block because an electrical line was
in the way of where firefighters had ladders in the air, Kane said.
The fire scene was between Union and Beech streets and Lake Avenue and
Spruce Street.
Traffic was detoured for blocks and the roads became icy with runoff from
the fire. A salt truck came to help with the ice.
The first call came it at 7:05 p.m., with the second alarm sounded two
minutes later and the third alarm six minutes after that. The fourth alarm
came at 7:47 p.m. The fire was declared under control at 10:43 p.m.
More than 300 people came from blocks away to watch the blaze, some even
pushing strollers and drinking beer.
Six-year-old Joshua Toohey watched the fire with his mother.
"I think it’s pretty cool. I could still see some fire inside the house,"
the boy said.
Police said the building’s owner is Clyde Race of Maple Street,
Manchester.
Kane praised the work of his fire crews.
"Firefighters that first arrived, they were faced with a major fire," Kane
said. "These firefighters did an outstanding job for the city tonight
containing the fire.
