Fire Damages New Hampshire Soup Kitchen

A fire at a Concord soup kitchen injured two people, caused over $100,000 in damage and blew black smoke in the city’s downtown area, firefighters said Saturday.

Firefighters responded to the fire at The Friendly Kitchen just before 10:30 a.m. They had the three-alarm fire under control at 12:04 p.m.

One man who was inside the two-story house suffered burns to his face and hands while attempting to fight the fire, Concord Fire Chief Dan Andrus said. A firefighter suffered from heat exhaustion and overexertion. Both were taken to Concord Hospital, where the firefighter was expected to be released after treatment.

Louise Parenteau, a volunteer at the soup kitchen, said breakfast had been served from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and one person would have been cleaning up at the time of the fire. Parenteau said a caretaker and one other person live inside.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

The Friendly Kitchen, which has served Concord’s low-income community since 1980, has worked out of its current location since 1999. The house itself was built in 1920.

The soup kitchen served over 57,400 meals in 2009.