Numerous towns responded to the scene of a three-alarm fire in Hanover.
The fire is at the Conway Country building at 183 Columbia Road. Route 53 is open Northbound from Broadway to Rockland Street (Route 139). Traffic will still be diverted Southbound between Rockland Street and Broadway for a few more hours.
Fire Chief Jeffrey Blanchard says they received a 9-1-1 call on the fire around 2 a.m. Crews arrived to find heavy fire showing from the building.
“We determined that we were going to do an exterior attack once we arrived, the fire had too much of a control of the building. Fortunately at this point there are no injuries,” said Blanchard. “It’s just protecting the exposures to the buildings around it.”
He says they did not receive an automatic fire alarm for the call, it’s something they’re investigating.
“The automatic fire alarm did not work,” said Blanchard. “The building was equipped with a fire alarm system, we never received that fire alarm.”
Blanchard says they had some difficulty with this fire, and it continued to progress rapidly.
“We’ve been working with the Police Department, we’ve been working with the Department of Transportation,” said Blanchard. “We think we’ll have this section of Route 53 shut down for a few more hours.”
The State Fire Marshall’s Office is responding to the scene. Most of the fire is out, but crews are waiting to enter what’s left of the building.
Parts of the building collapsed in the early morning fire. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
The early morning fire at the Conway Country building in Hanover. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
The Conway Country building just after dawn in Hanover. Photo credit: Lenny Rowe.
