Other - Retail, Retail Portsmouth, NH – Sprinkler system limits damage in overnight fire at auto body shop July 9, 2015 viking210 A radio likely sparked an early morning fire at an auto body shop that would have caused about $100,000 in damage, if not for a working sprinkler system, said Fire Chief Steve Achilles. Firefighters responded to the Portsmouth Autobody Center at 4:36 a.m. Wednesday when an alarm sounded from the 700 Peverly Hill Road business, said the fire chief. When they arrived, it took firefighters about 15 minutes to locate the fire because it was in back of the main building, inside a separate 200-foot by 120-foot metal building, Achilles said. Firefighters had to force their way into the locked and smoke-filled building and one firefighter injured his hand while making entry, according to Achilles. He was treated at Portsmouth Regional Hospital and released, the chief said. Once inside, firefighters “used a line to knock down the remaining fire,” said Achilles. An investigation concluded with a theory that a radio, or a wire to a radio, started the fire inside a storage cabinet, Achilles said. No vehicles or people were in the building at the time, he said.
