SAUGUS — The Fire Department responded to a two-alarm fire at 27 Pleasant Ave. Thursday evening.
James Martin, 65, who lives in the house with his wife and three grandchildren, said he was on his way home when the fire broke out around 5 p.m.
Martin said everybody made it out of the home safely, and it appeared that the family’s pets did as well.
“I’m out of my mind,” Martin said.
Deputy Fire Chief Tom D’Eon said a report of the fire came in at 5:10 p.m. When companies responded to it, there was fire visible at the rear of the house and near the garage.
“They knocked down that fire on the exterior,” D’Eon said. “Then they checked for extension in the house, and it had extended into the house, and it was in the walls and came up the roof.”
D’Eon said it was a “very stubborn fire,” which is why the Department called so many fire companies.
He added there were no civilian or firefighter injuries, and that the fire is under investigation.
D’Eon described the damage as extensive water and smoke damage, with fire damage in the rear. He estimated there were hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
Companies from Lynn, Malden, and Everett were on the scene, which smelled strongly of smoke, as firefighters worked to ventilate the house’s roof.
Town Meeting member Maureen Whitcomb, who lives across Pleasant Street, said she saw police cruisers and fire trucks assembling on the street around 5 pm Wednesday evening. She said she could see smoke coming out of the house.
The fire appeared to have melted the tires of a vehicle parked in the driveway.
By 6:31 p.m., the smoke had mostly dissipated and National Grid had arrived on the scene. By 7:02 p.m., firetrucks were clearing out.
