LYNN – Five people escaped unharmed, but one of a family’s dogs died in a three-alarm fire at a multi-family home on Chestnut Street Tuesday.”It’s so sad to see all this because it is the family home, and they put everything into the house,” said Lydianne Chau, who said her sister and brother-in-law bought the home in 1994 after their marriage. There were three apartments in the home. Her parents live in a home on the back of the property that fire officials said was undamaged.Firefighters responded shortly before noon to 139 Chestnut St. at the intersection of Union Street and found flames at the rear of a 2? story wooden-frame house.Approaching the scene, one could see black smoke billowing into a gray sky. A crowd of people watched and took video as flames appeared throughout the second floor of the house, and smoke escaped from windows and underneath the roof.Resident Camilla Chau said she was asleep when she heard yelling from the kitchen that the dryer was on fire. She said she kept running into her room to call the Pomeranian, Pebbles, but the dog kept hiding under the bed, too afraid to come out. The occupants – five people and two other dogs were home at the time, Lydianne Chau said – were able to escape.Meanwhile, the flames increased, igniting the second floor so that flames could be seen on each side of the house, and extending up the walls into the roof. Bystanders could feel the heat from the flames coming from the second-story window.”This is going to be on the news,” Jasmine Garcia said, shooting video of the increasing flames with her phone. “It’s crazy ? and right before Christmas; it’s just a tragedy.”District Fire Chief Jim McDonald said the house was an estimated 150 years old and in a “balloon frame” construction that has no fire stops and allows flames to spread throughout a house.”It gets into the walls and then flows right up over your head,” he said from the scene. McDonald said he believed the house would be a total loss. He said the cause of the fire remained undetermined, and a third alarm was rung as the flames increased. He said some discolored and peeling siding of a neighboring home was the only damage to neighboring properties.American Red Cross volunteers helped 16 people – eight adults and eight children from three families – with emergency shelter at a hotel and money for food, clothing and coats.Neighbors Cherish Casey and Kayla Carbary said they wanted to start a fund to help the families affected, as there were many children who lived in the house. (Lydianne Chau said she was thankful the children were at school when the fire broke out. Camilla Chau said a 4-year-old escaped safely with her mother).”A lot of people are standing here watching and what are they going to do?” Casey asked rhetorically. “We have to help them as a society.”District Fire Chief Steven Archer said crews remained on scene until near 5 p.m.”It was a stubborn fire to put out, it would be put out in one area and flare up in another, but the guys did a great job,” Archer said.Archer said the cause of the fire remained under investigation, but the tenant had reported the flames started after he put in a load of laundry.View Larger Map