A fire at Red’s in downtown Jaffrey early Tuesday morning destroyed an office on the second floor of the the auto repair and heating oil delivery service’s building, but most services at the business reopened Wednesday.

On Tuesday evening, Red’s posted that it would be open for normal business hours starting Wednesday, including full-service gas station, heating oil and delivery and heavy truck repairs. The automotive garage will remain closed until further notice.

“From all of us here at Red’s, we want to give a giant thank you to all the first-responders who fought through frigid temperatures in the early morning to contain and extinguish the fire,” the company posted to its Facebook page. 

The post also thanked those who have reached out, brought food for first-responders and staff, employees and volunteers who helped to clean after the fire and the Red’s IT team who worked to restore phone and internet access.

“You have no idea how much you have helped us on this devastating day. We still have a long road to go, but we are in good spirits and looking forward to taking all the necessary steps to continue to serve the Monadnock region,” the post concluded.

According to Fire Chief David Chamberlin, the fire was called in by a passerby at 4:27 a.m. Tuesday. When crews began to respond, the assistant fire chief was first on the scene and reported very heavy smoke conditions visible from Main Street, and raised the call to a second alarm, Chamberlin said.

When firefighters arrived at Red’s, they observed fire in the right rear corner of the business’ repair shop and business office’s second floor.

“The fire extended into the bulk of the second story,” Chamberlin said. “Almost the whole second floor is damaged.”

The Jaffrey engine began to attack the right rear exterior of the building, and an additional crew of Jaffrey firefighters and mutual aid crews started an interior attack on the second floor.

Chamberlin said the cause of the fire is still being investigated, but crews have determined potential start points, and it does not appear to be suspicious.

Crews were able to knock down the fire within about an hour of arriving on scene. Chamberlin said the proximity to the business’ gas pumps was not a safety concern, as the fuel tanks are underground, and the fire was contained mostly to the opposite side of the building.

Cold weather was an issue for crews, with frigid temperatures causing water from tankers to freeze on the ground almost immediately, Chamberlin said. Several firefighters fell due to icy conditions, but were not injured. One firefighter was sent to the hospital for a precautionary check after hurting their back during the overhaul of the debris in the building.

Chamberlin said the cold temperatures also impacted the trucks, some of which had to be sent back to the station to thaw, but that it did not impact the immediate response to the fire.

In addition to the fire at Red’s, Jaffrey crews responded to another call early Tuesday in the early afternoon, a chimney fire on Main Street. The fire was called in by the homeowner. Chamberlin said the fire was contained to the chimney structure, and did not extend into the home or appear to damage the chimney.

Chamberlin thanked mutual aid response crews who responded to the fire at Red’s, as well as community members who donated hot drinks and food to members on the scene. Responding organizations included Peterborough Fire & Rescue, Rindge Fire Department, Dublin Fire Department, Troy Fire Department, New Ipswich Fire Department, Keene Fire Department, WInchendon Fire Department, Milford Fire Department, Greenville Fire Department, SWNHD Fire Mutual Aid, JFFCI FAST squad, the Jaffrey police, public works and water departments; Jaffrey-Rindge Memorial Ambulance , the state Department of Transportation and Eversource.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.