Apartment Building, Residential Keene, NH – Sprinkler system helps stop fire at multi-family building December 9, 2016 viking210 A second-alarm fire broke out at a multi-family building just northeast of downtown Keene Tuesday night. The first call for assistance came at 6:32 p.m. to battle a fire at the Beaver Brook Apartments at 543 Washington St., which is near the intersection of Cottage Street. The two-story structure has 24 apartments. Keene fire officials reported that the blaze in a second-story apartment took about 40 minutes to bring under control. Fire was limited to that one unit and there was smoke damage affecting about 25 percent of the building. The state chapter of American Red Cross reported that it was assisting one family with shelter after the blaze. The one occupant of the apartment was offered, but refused, medical transport for treatment, fire officials said. The building’s sprinkler assisted with controlling the blaze. At the height of the fire, there were eight public safety trucks on scene, according to the Southwestern New Hampshire Mutual Assistance Program. By 7:30 p.m., firefighters were bringing tenants back into the building to retrieve their belongings and their pets. First responders assisted to prevent the lower apartments from getting water damage. The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation. Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to call the Keene Fire Department at 603-757-1863. Brattleboro, Vt., and Swanzey Fire assisted at the scene. Crews from the Marlborough, Spofford, Chesterfield, Peterborough and Walpole fire departments provided coverage to the two Keene Fire Stations.
