MANCHESTER, NH — On December 11, 2020 Manchester police were on Lowell Street investigating a burglar alarm at the St. Joseph's Library when they discovered smoke from a nearby building — which turned out to be St. Joseph's Cathedral rectory.

Manchester fire was notified at 5:20 a.m. and arrived to the scene and found an odor of smoke in the building but no visible fire. Firefighters searched the rectory building attached to the cathedral and discovered a fire in a basement under the rectory. Additional apparatus were requested to the scene, and firefighters worked to extinguish the fire.

MFD District Chief Jim Michaels said, to access the basement area, firefighters had to locate a trap door located under a couch causing a delay. When firefighters entered the basement, they had items burning around a dehumidifier. Firefighters used fans to eject smoke from the building and checked the basement for extension from the original fire.

The area where the fire occurred had several shelves holding various archive items belonging to the church.

The fire was brought under control but there was water and smoke damage. The fire was determined to be accidental and the origin appears to be a dehumidifier in the basement.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news