Overview
- A pre-dawn fire ripped through the second floor of an Orange Street building in Nashua early Tuesday, and two male residents died after firefighters rescued one who later died at a hospital.
- Investigators initially said the blaze was not considered suspicious but later actions by prosecutors have led officials to treat the deaths as suspicious while they review prior contacts and case history.
- Arson dogs have been deployed to check for accelerants and autopsies are scheduled to confirm cause of death and whether the fatalities were fire-related.
- Officials say it is too early to tell if smoke detectors worked in the up-to-eight-unit building, and the Red Cross is helping residents displaced by the fire.
- If autopsies confirm the deaths were caused by the blaze, the fatalities would raise New Hampshire's total for the year and add to a pattern of multiple recent fire deaths that officials are tracking.