MERRIMACK – A fire that broke out in a first-floor apartment in a large residential building Saturday evening could have caused much more damage than it did, had it not been for the building’s central sprinkler system, fire officials said.

Crews were called around 5 p.m. to 1 Crosswoods Path Boulevard, a 21-unit apartment building just off Daniel Webster Highway not far from the Bedford town line.

Upon arrival, according to Merrimack Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Matthew Duke, firefighters on Engine 1 and Ladder 1 reported a fire had started in a bedroom of the first-floor apartment, but water from the sprinkler heads had knocked the flames down and pretty much extinguished them.

Duke said residents were alerted to the fire by smoke detectors, which were activated along with the sprinkers.

Under the direction of Capt. Rick Gagne, a crew double checked the area where the fire broke out to make sure it hadn’t gotten into the walls or ceiling, Duke said.

Meanwhile, he said, other crews evacuated all the residents who were home at the time as a precaution.

Firefighters then used monitors that detect carbon monoxide and other dangerous gases, Duke added.

Finding none, they allowed residents back into the building, while other personnel investigated the circumstances of the fire.

Duke said it was determined that “the fire originated from an unattended candle,” and described the damage to the apartment as “very minimal … limited to some furnishings in the bedroom.”

Crews finished up and had departed by 6:30 p.m., about an hour and 40 minutes after they arrived.

Duke said the incident “highlights the importance of working smoke detectors and automatic sprinkler systems.”

The residents of the apartment, as well as those throughout the building, were “immediately alerted to the fire by the smoke detectors, and the sprinkler system extinguished the fire within minutes,” Duke said.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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