An investigation into the cause of a three-alarm fire that extensively damaged a home at 5 Stafford Road in Lynnfield Thursday night is underway.
Lynnfield Fire Chief Glenn Davis said investigators from the Massachusetts Fire Marshal’s office were on the scene Thursday night and early Friday morning examining the property.
Davis said all occupants and the family dog were able to exit the home without injuries and that the house is likely a “total loss.”
“They have been displaced from their home due to the smoke, water, and fire damage,” Davis said in a statement issued Friday.
Davis said public-safety dispatch received a 911 call at approximately 8:11 p.m. reporting a fire in the garage of the home. Car 1 and Engine 1 arrived on the scene and found that the garage and rear of the home were “well involved in fire.”
Davis “immediately transmitted a second alarm” to secure mutual-aid assistance to fight the fire. The fire then extended to the attic and basement, prompting Davis to sound a third alarm for additional companies at 8:28 p.m. Due to “heavy fire conditions throughout the structure, Chief Davis pulled all crews out of the building and went into defensive operations.” Crews blocked off the street from both directions.
Several communities provided mutual aid, including Lynn, North Reading, Middleton, Peabody, Reading, Saugus, Stoneham, and Wakefield. Danvers, Lynn, and Melrose provided station coverage and Atlantic Ambulance provided backup ambulance service. Rehab Five provided on-scene rehabilitation services for firefighters.
A post on the Northeast Massachusetts Emergency Alerts Facebook page on Thursday reporting the striking of a third alarm stated that “companies (were) having water problems and still have a heavy fire.”
A video posted about an hour later shows the home, which is located at the end of a long driveway and cannot be seen from the street, engulfed in flames with heavy black smoke coming out of the building. Witnesses also said that they could smell the smoke from Summer Street near Huckleberry Hill Elementary School due to strong winds.
Town property records show that the home is owned by Meuse Family Trust, with Arthur J. Meuse as trustee. The property, which is located in the Sherwood Forest section of town, is assessed for a little less than $1.49 million and situated on 56,609 square feet of land. The four-bedroom, 2.5-bath Colonial-style home was built in 1994.
Richelle Melad contributed to this report.
