Saugus firefighters stop vacant home fire

SAUGUS – A basement fire in a vacant Saugus home was put out quickly Thursday night by crews from a fire station scheduled to close due to budget cuts, according to Saugus Fire Captain Michael Newbury.Newbury said Saugus firefighters received a call at 9:45 p.m. from a neighbor who reported smoke alarms going off in a vacant 12 Guild Street home and smoke seeping through the windows.Crews dispatched from Essex Street Fire Station arrived on scene and battled heavy smoke and a fire that had spread to the first floor. They fed a fire hose into the home to stop the fire in its tracks, Newbury said.”They stopped the fire right in the hallway where they originally saw it,” Newbury said.Crews also forced entry into the home to check for further damage. Fire Capt. Stephen Johnson ordered his crews to break into the walls of the home after he noticed the fire seemed to be burning from the baseboards in the first floor, which Newbury said is a sign the fire could be spreading quickly to other parts of the home.He said crews put the entire fire out within 20 minutes, and he credited the quick work of Engine 1 dispatched from the Essex Street Fire Station for stopping the fire from becoming much more serious.”[The house] could have been lost if it wasn’t for their actions,” he said.The Essex Street Fire Station, one of two in Saugus, is currently at minimum staffing and could close in January as the department runs out of overtime money to pay its firefighters.Newbury and other high-level Saugus firefighters repeatedly point out successful fires the station plays a part in fighting as they publicly praise Town Manager Scott Crabtree for cobbling money together to keep the station open for now.”The town manager is doing a great job,” Newbury said.Newbury, who was on scene to investigate the fire, said he believes the fire originated in the basement. He said he doesn’t suspect foul play.Amber Parcher may be reached at [email protected].