LYNNFIELD — Tragedy was narrowly averted Friday night when a two-alarm fire broke out sometime around 7 p.m. at a home on Northway Road.
While no humans were at home at the time, the family dog, Bolt, was.
When firefighters arrived, there was no sign of Bolt in the home. After about a 15-minute search, firefighters finally located the black lab, hiding in the master bedroom. He was carried out by firefighters, and, after a tense few minutes, sprung to his feet, much to the relief of a crowd of concerned neighbors and friends.
Owner Abhishek Nagrath said, while the damage to the house was unknown, the news that Bolt was OK was all that he and his wife, Vasundhra, wanted to hear.
“We were with friends and got a call from a neighbor that there was smoke and our first thoughts were of the dog,” he said. “It took us about 30 minutes to get here, but were so relieved when we knew Bolt was okay.”
Animal Control’s David Crockett said that Bolt was “doing really fine and we just got lucky. He’s a big heavy dog, but he’s walking around and should be fine. This is just a wonderful story.”
Crockett said the large crowd actually was beneficial to the dog as “labs love being around people.”
Lynnfield Fire Chief Glenn Davis said the first call came from a neighbor reporting flickering lights. A second call reported there was fire showing in the house.
“At this point, it appears to be electrical. Upon arrival, there was heavy fire throughout the basement and heavy smoke throughout the building, so we put a second alarm for more manpower. I knew there was a dog in the house,” said Davis. “We found the dog on the second floor and were able to get him out. I believe it was Captain (Kevin) Mutti and his crew who found him. They told me they found him but I didn’t know his condition so I was definitely concerned when they brought him out, but he looks good. We thought he should be checked out, just to play it safe, as this is man’s best friend.”
Davis said Wakefield, Reading, North Reading, Middleton fire departments responded to the scene, while the Lynn and Saugus departments manned the station. Davis said a state fire marshall was on his way to the scene to investigate.
Davis said timing was key.
“He (Bolt) was a little afraid coming out of a dark house but now he’s fine and we couldn’t have had a happier ending,” Davis said. “My crews did a great job of stopping this fire, another five minutes and it probably would have been through the roof.”
