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Firefighters Battle 3-Alarm Fire At Manchester, NH Apartment Buildings

MANCHESTER, N.H. (CBS) -- Firefighters battled a three-alarm fire at two multi-family apartment buildings in Manchester, New Hampshire on Sunday afternoon.

The fire broke out at the rear of one of the two Second Street buildings around 12:30 p.m.

No residents were hurt.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital after suffering heat exhaustion and chest pains, WBZ-TV's Katie Brace reports. The firefighter is expected to be OK.

Sean Furey looked at what was his second-story apartment from across the street.

Smoke was billowing from the building as he returned home from running errands.

"I got laid off from my first job, totaled my car, so this is just another 'Uh oh!' moment," Furey says. "I mean, what can go wrong, has gone wrong."

Firefighters say when they arrived both buildings were burning and the fire was spreading next door.

Manchester fire chief Hank Martineau says the neighborhood is pretty tight, and the fire got between the buildings and escalated quickly.

It took firefighters about an hour and a half to get the fire under control.

A cigarette caused the fire.

Resident Arnold Mikolo says he went to church Sunday morning and came back to the house on fire.

The houses are uninhabitable, and nearly two dozen residents have been displaced.

"Everything is gone," Mikolo said. "I can't believe this. I have to start from scratch."

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