SALEM, N.H. — Salem was the most recent site of a brush fire over the weekend that ate up a marshy area off Geremonty Drive.
The Salem Fire Department responded to the Boys and Girls Club on Geremonty Drive around 11 a.m. on Sunday after receiving three 911 calls about a fire outside the facility.
When crews arrived, they found an area approximately 150- by 150-feet on fire in front of the building and spreading rapidly through the marsh grass toward the woods and Salemhaven, a 110-bed long-term health care and rehabilitation center. The fire consumed nearly two acres of land before it was contained.
While investigation remains ongoing, fire officials said they believe the malfunction of an electrical arc on a utility pole on the roadway caused of the fire, according to a statement. The fire is not believed to be suspicious.
There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians and the fire did not spread to any nearby structures. Geremonty Drive was closed in both directions while the area was cleared, which took around two hours.
The road was reopened around 2 p.m.
The Salem police and fire departments were assisted by the Derry and Methuen fire departments which provided mutual aid to the vacant fire houses in Salem during the incident.