Flea Market Fire Appears Accidental [VIDEO]

The cause of a storage unit fire on the Londonderry Flea Market property appears to be accidental at this hour, according to Londonderry Fire Chief Kevin MacCaffrie.

Witnesses reported the fully involved fire at 5 Avery Road just before 8:15 a.m., which MacCaffrie said was through the roof of the 24 by 46 structure when units arrived.

He said that the building was not salvageable, and the initial two units took a defensive approach, keeping away from the building when dousing the flames, realizing that the structure was a loss at that time.

"They took the defensive posture because they didn't know what was exactly inside the building, he said. "The stuff that was stored outside you can see were lawnmowers and equipment that holds gas and possibly propane."

At the height of the incident, 25 firefighters from six towns were on hand. The fire was under control at 9:35 a.m. No injuries to firefighters took place.

MacCaffrie said that a white house near the fire that is closer to the edge of Route 102 has actually been used for LFD training.

He added that there was a lot of debris around the area, including some wires, although it was unknown whether they were alive or not.

MacCaffrie said that the department will get in and take a look at the fire before making a final determination as to the cause.

Pete Sapatis, who owns the flea market, was the first person to call LFD. He was on the scene in a backhoe, helping to tear apart the side wall of the storage unit.

"It's nice to have equipment on board so we can get in there and get little pockets of fire," MacCaffrie said.

A fire marshal was also on scene, taking pictures of the building as Sapatis was tearing it down.

Initial reports listed the incident as a barn fire. A barn sits adjacent to the storage structure, but was untouched in the blaze. A police official at the scene indicated that the fire may have been triggered by a wood stove.