A fire sparked at a historic Portsmouth building built in 1880 required upward of 75 firefighters to battle the flames that began in a first-floor restaurant and burned its way through the roof.
The Portsmouth Herald reports the initial damage assessment for the Portsmouth Gas Light Co. building is $2.1 million.
Fire Chief Steven Achilles says no one was injured in the blaze. It was first reported just after 10 a.m. Wednesday by firefighters training on the city's fire boat in the Piscataqua River.
A fire wall between the structure and adjacent buildings prevented the flames from spreading. Firefighters from at least 16 departments responded and the blaze was put under control by noon.
Achilles says the fire started in a duct for the restaurant's wood-fired oven.
