There were no injuries and a family with their pets safely escaped a four-alarm house fire early this morning in West Newbury.
West Newbury Public Safety Dispatch received a 911 call just before 3:30 a.m. from the 374 Middle St. homeowner reporting flames were showing from the home.
Fire Chief Michael Dwyer said firefighters found the back roof of the one-and-a-half-story wood-frame home fully involved with heavy flames and smoke. Firefighters and mutual aid partners began an aggressive exterior attack to knock down the heavy flames.
At about 4:20 a.m., crews struck a third alarm and ultimately went to a fourth alarm for additional manpower. By 4:42 a.m., a majority of the fire was knocked down.
“This was a challenging fire, and a good demonstration of the power of mutual aid,” Dwyer said. He thanked mutual aid partners and other agencies, including Newburyport Fire Chief Christopher LeClaire and Groveland Fire Chief Robert Valentine.
Firefighters at the scene stretched approximately 1,200 feet of hose line and used about a half dozen tanker trucks to maintain water supply, both labor-intensive processes. Mutual aid at the scene was provided by firefighters from Newburyport, Groveland, Georgetown, Newbury, Boxford, Hampton Falls, Amesbury, Haverhill, Middleton, Plaistow and the Seacoast Chief Fire Officers Mutual Aid District Air Trailer. Firefighters from the Merrimac, Salisbury, Newton, Rowley, and Kingston, N.H., fire departments provided station coverage.
Atlantic Ambulance also responded to the scene to provide rehab and West Newbury Police Department assisted with traffic
The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation by the West Newbury Fire Department and the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office.