Four apartments in a large affordable housing project currently under construction were damaged by a three alarm fire on Thursday evening.

Deputy Chief Joe Dayton said the building’s size and harsh weather conditions that evening required assistance from several surrounding towns.

“There were high winds and high heat,” Dayton said. “The fire was burning for awhile prior to us arriving on the scene.”

He estimated that damages cost $500,000.

An emergency call was placed at approximately 6:28 p.m. about the fire at Marion Village Estates. Marion Fire/EMS and Marion Police arrived on the scene and found heavy smoke coming out of one unfinished 30-unit apartment building.

According to a statement released by the Marion Police Department, the size of the structure, the high winds and extreme cold necessitated a second and third alarm.

Approximately 60 firefighters from Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Wareham and Onset were on the scene for more than six hours. The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services rehabilitation unit, the Marion Department of Public Works and the Providence Canteen also provided assistance.

Dayton said fire hydrants at the site were not frozen, but several times throughout the night hoses used to extinguish the blaze did freeze.

“Those were terrible conditions to stand out there in for six hours,” Dayton said.

Dayton credited the fire crews for saving the building, which was nearly complete.

“Their hard work paid off and it shows because the building is still standing,” Dayton said. “Everybody went home safe.”

Most crews left the scene at midnight. The last firefighters to leave the scene were from Marion and left 3 a.m. Friday morning.

“Firefighters faced some of the most difficult conditions they’ve ever had to encounter,” Town Administrator Paul Dawson told Selectmen during a Friday meeting.

With many prepared to move into the development this spring, Chair Jon Henry said the fire departments’ actions spared the building.

“This is no doubt a setback,” Henry said. “It would be a fate far worse than I could imagine if it burned down.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Marion Fire and Police Departments, the state Fire Marshall's office and the state police crime scene services.

Dayton said at this time the cause of the fire is deemed unsuspicious

Bay Watch Real Estate, a development company, owns the project. Plans call for the construction of 60 apartments and 36 single-family homes on the site, located behind the Brew Fish Restaurant on Front Street.

Previously, Bay Watch representative Ken Steen said 30 apartments were slated to open Feb. 1, but that date had been pushed back.

Thursday’s fire came one day after a blaze displaced a Mattapoisett couple from their home on County Road. Mattapoisett Fire Chief Andrew Murray said faulty wiring caused that fire. Damages are estimated to cost $200,000.