MA Firefighters Save House from Destruction

HAVERHILL — Despite having to travel nearly 5 miles, firefighters saved an Ayers Village home from being destroyed by flames Wednesday afternoon.

No one was injured, fire Deputy Chief Robert O'Brien said.

The 2-alarm fire was first reported at 12:48 p.m. Firefighters had the blaze under control within 20 minutes, according to O'Brien, who directed the attack. The fire started in the basement of the large 2-story, wood-frame house at 8 Village Lane, according to both interim Chief Jack Parow and O'Brien.

Clutter in the basement made it difficult for firefighters to attack the flames, O'Brien said. They had to cut holes in the floor to get at the fire, he said.

"It was just a stubborn fire," O'Brien said. While the basement sustained damage, the rest of the house remained structurally sound, he said.

Fire Lt. Roger Moses was investigating the cause of the blaze Wednesday afternoon. An unidentified man who indicated he owns the home ordered The Eagle-Tribune to leave the property.

An undetermined number of people who were in the house when the fire started got out safely, O'Brien said. At least two dogs also left the building.

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"It's a long way out here," Parow said, noting the long distance from Ayers Village to any of the city's three active fire stations: Central on Water Street, High Street and 16th Avenue.

The first truck to arrive, Engine 1, came from the High Street station – 4 1/2 miles away. Engines 2, 3 and 4 also responded. Besides the long distance they had to travel, the nearest hydrant is several hundred yards away from Village Way, on Broadway.

Firefighters suppressed the blaze with 1.75-inch attack lines.

A station is located in Ayers Village, but it is not manned, O'Brien noted. Ayers Village has a call force, but most of those volunteer firefighters are not available during the day, he noted.

One Ayers Village call firefighter responded to Wednesday's fire, he said.

Disaster relief volunteers from the American Red Cross showed up at the fire, but the residents were not displaced, O'Brien said.

While local firefighters battled the Village Way blaze, crews from Lawrence, Georgetown, Groveland and Methuen manned the stations. During the operation on Village Way, firefighters had to douse an outside fire at a house on Arlington Street and burning mulch on the property of Pentucket Medical Associates on Bailey Boulevard.

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