A two-alarm fire broke out early Sunday morning in the basement of a house on Ellsworth Road forcing two residents to evacuate. They were able to escape without any injuries, according to Peabody Fire Chief Jay Dowling
Firefighters received a call at around 6:50 a.m. about a possible fire in the basement which was soon confirmed by the first responders. Both residents had already exited the building upon the arrival of firefighters.
The blaze traveled from the basement to the second floor and extended to the attic, traveling through the chimney chase.
“They knocked it down fairly quickly in the basement… it already extended up so they just started pulling walls. They had the fire under control within probably 30, 45 minutes,” Dowling said. “There was a lot of overhaul just because it was in the walls, so there was a lot of ripping the walls apart to make sure it hadn’t extended further into the house.
Assisting in the battle were ladders and engines from Lynn and Salem, while Beverley, Danvers, Lynnfield, and Swampscott provided station coverage.
The exact cause of the fire is being characterized as an undetermined accident stemming from somewhere in the basement with any possibility of foul play being ruled out.
While a lot of damage was done to the house, most of it was to the interior and the residents do plan to rebuild and get their lives back on track after disaster.
