No one was injured, but six people are displaced following an attic fire early Saturday afternoon at a two-family Dudley Street home.
Haverhill firefighters were dispatched around 12:15 p.m. at 20 Dudley St., with Engine 2 from Sixteenth Avenue arriving first at the three-story, wood-frame building.
“Upon their arrival they were met with heavy fire showing above the third-floor windows in the rear of the building,” said Haverhill Fire Chief Robert M. O’Brien.
The chief told WHAV firefighters were able to work around a potentially dangerous situation when they found the main stairwell blocked by personal belongings at the second floor. Crews were able to quickly regroup, withdrawing and going to a staircase in the back of the house.
“It is a credit to the guys they were able to pull that line back out after going up two flights and they were still able to stop it on the third floor which was tremendous,” O’Brien said. He added, “They advanced the line up three flights of interior stairs. They held the fire, stopped the fire at the third floor…a great stop.”
O’Brien believes the building is salvageable with the third floor receiving heavy fire damage, but the first and second floors sustaining water damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
According to city records, the home was built in 1894 and is currently owned by the Maureen E. Ryan Trust.