Interim Fire Chief Todd Germain said the department received multiple calls about the fire about 11:25 a.m.
When firefighters arrived, they saw “heavy flames” coming from a back wall at the hotel and they were able to quickly knock it down, Germain said at the scene.
Germain did not know immediately how many people were staying at the hotel at the time of the fire, but said everyone was evacuated safely.
After knocking the fire down, firefighters remained on scene as they dug into the outside wall to look into the interior and pour water on it.
“We’re just trying to make sure there’s no fires hidden inside the walls,” Germain said.
One sprinkler system did go off because of the fire, Germain said, but there appeared to be little or no significant damage to the inside of the hotel.
He planned to work with hotel management and city inspectors to see if hotel guests could return to their rooms Thursday, Germain said.
Firefighters could be seen washing down each other’s uniforms at the scene Thursday.
“That’s something we do as part of our protocol to make sure we’re not leaving any carcinogens on our uniform,” he said.
In addition to Portsmouth, firefighters from Kittery, Maine, and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard responded to the one-alarm fire, he said.
The Anchorage Inn and Suites is near the Woodbury Avenue bridge, which was removed and is in the process of being replaced. The bridge closure did not slow the arrival of firefighters, Germain said.
“We know our way around,” he said with a smile.
