MANCHESTER — In the wake of the Iowa caucuses, national political reporters have focused on how Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign has surged since his surprise second-place finish. Friday on Grove Street, emergency personnel were worried about it catching fire.

Santorum held a “Faith, Family and Freedom” Town Hall at Belmont Hall Friday afternoon, but Manchester fire officials moved attendees outside into an adjacent parking lot before the former Pennsylvania senator even arrived, after the number of supporters, protesters and interested voters exceeded the 100-person capacity of the facility.

“We don’t have all the figures, but they were definitely over capacity,” said Manchester District Fire Chief Mark Pelletier. “The campaign was told 100 people max, and more than 100 showed up. It’s not uncommon at these types of events — people just catch wind of it and show up.”

“I called it in after I saw the crowd,” said Manchester Fire Commissioner Real Pinard, standing on the outskirts of the crowd. “I saw the numbers and I called it in, and they dispatched a unit. Safety comes first.”

“The campaign people totally understood,” said Pelletier. “Everyone understood. Some people were thanking us for moving them outside. It’s safety — if there’s a fire or someone throws some pepper spray, they can’t all be jammed in there.”

A campaign spokesman was not available after the appearance to comment on the larger-than-expected crowd. Santorum ran into a similar situation earlier in the day at an appearance in Dublin, where an overflow crowd occurred at the Dublin School.

A media member asked the 200 or so attendees how many were Santorum supporters, and roughly 11 held up their hands. The rest were media members and protesters, questioning the candidates remarks made regarding gay marriage at an appearance in Concord on Thursday.

Santorum spoke to the crowd outside Belmont Hall, without the use of sound amplifying equipment. Those along the back fringe of the crowd were too far away to hear much of anything, which didn’t help undecided voters form an opinion on the candidate.

“This is a fiasco,” said Gerald Brown of Manchester. “I’m one of those undecided voters, I wanted to hear more from him. I was closer in, but there were too many people yelling stuff, and I couldn’t see anything.”

Others were impressed by Santorum’s willingness to brave the chill in the air.

“He’s out here in the cold with everyone,” said Phyllis of Manchester (who didn’t want her last name used). “I think that says a lot about him. I’m impressed with that.”