Chimney fire damages Saugus home

SAUGUS – A chimney fire spread into the walls of a home on Athens Drive in Saugus Thursday night as Saugus firefighters had to tear apart much of the front room of the home to get to the flames.Saugus Fire Capt. Thomas Nolan said the call came in at around 8:45 p.m. At around 9 p.m. smoke could be seen coming from the chimney as firefighters from Saugus and Wakefield worked to douse the flames while removing material from the walls and ceilings. A ladder truck was also fully extended over the roof of the house.By 9:45 p.m. the fire was extinguished and firefighters could be seen removing debris from the house while braving the 17-degree weather.A crowd of about a dozen people stood outside and watched. Homeowners at the scene declined to comment.Nolan said the fire was contained to inside the walls and noted things could have been a lot worse if it had started later in the night.”Good thing it wasn’t at 3 a.m., it would have been much different,” he said. “They had no smoke detectors and there’s always a delay getting to the west side of town.”Nolan said no injuries were reported.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].