Firefighters extinguish four-alarm West Newbury house fire

Dave Rogers, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·2 min read

Apr. 10—WEST NEWBURY — What started out as a lawnmower fire threatened to destroy a Reeds Lane house Saturday around 12:15 p.m. when flames travelled up a deck and then into the house, according to a West Newbury fire official.

No one was hurt and the four-alarm fire at 2 Reeds Lane was put out before the house was totally consumed by flames.

"Due to the design of the house it took quite a while to get it under control," West Newbury Fire Chief Michael Dwyer said, estimating it took firefighters close to an hour to knock it down. Crews from at least 10 departments, the Seacoast Chief Fire Officers Association and a forest fire truck from the Department of Conservation and Recreation responded.

Firefighters were expected to be at the house throughout the afternoon and into the evening putting out hotspots and checking for hidden damage.

Dwyer said the homeowner's son had just finished mowing the lawn and placed the mower under the deck. As he began seeding the yard, the boy spotted flames shooting out of the lawnmower and called 911 immediately. By the time firefighters arrived flames had made their way up the deck and into the home.

Everyone in the house escaped without injury.

Because the house is not on the town's water system, firefighters had to contend with a limited water supply, made possible by water tanker trucks. Wind was not a factor, according to Dwyer.

Assisting local firefighters were firefighters from Amesbury, Newburyport, Newbury, Merrimac, Salisbury, Groveland, Georgetown, Haverhill, Boxford, Plaistow, N.H. and other communities. An Atlantic Ambulance crew was on scene as well as the Department of Fire Services rehabilitation unit, and an air trailer from the Seacoast Chief Fire Officers unit in New Hampshire. Local police closed Bachelor Street to traffic.

"Hell of a response from everyone, as usual," Dwyer said.

Dwyer said he and fellow West Newbury native Amesbury Fire Chief Ken Berkenbush were at a COVID-19 vaccine clinic at Amesbury High School when the call came in.

"I want to thank him for his assistance, being a West Newbury guy," Dwyer said.

According to the town's online assessor's database, the contemporary house was built in 1987 and was last assessed at $450,200.

Dave Rogers is a staff writer with The Daily News. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.