LYNN — A 3-alarm fire Saturday morning tore through a highlands home, rendering it a total loss and displacing four residents, officials said.
Firefighters responded to 13 Valley Ave. around 10:30 a.m. Saturday for a report of a basement fire, said District Chief Joseph Zukas, a department spokesman. The blaze, while initially contained to the basement, quickly spread up the walls of the home due to its balloon frame construction, an older form of construction with no fire stops in the walls. As a result, firefighters spent hours chasing the blaze, with crews on scene until around 4 p.m.
Zukas said the four residents of the home had self-evacuated by the time firefighters arrived, and the building had working smoke alarms. No civilians were injured, but two firefighters suffered minor injuries, including a lieutenant who suffered an arm injury and was transported to Salem Hospital for evaluation.
The fire was a particular challenge because of the home’s construction, Zukas said, which forced firefighters to “chase it throughout the house.” To get water on the fire, crews had to essentially take the building apart, he said.
“[We had to] open up all the walls and ceilings to get to the fire,” he said. “It became a race and the fire got ahead of us.”
At one point, companies had to be pulled out of the home as the fire continued to spread, Zukas said, leaving firefighters to attack it from the exterior.
As they battled the blaze, officials grew concerned that it would spread to neighboring homes due to the density of the area, Zukas said. But, firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from damaging any other homes.
“The guys worked hard,” Zukas said.
The fire partially burned the roof of the home, and the Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents, according to Zukas. No cause has been identified, he said.
