PEABODY — The two residents of the white Gambrel home at the intersection of Ellsworth and Columbus roads were awakened shortly before 6:40 a.m. Sunday by a loud noise in the basement.
That was followed shortly by a smell of smoke and the sound of smoke detectors shrieking their alarm.
The two residents, a man in his 50s and his 92-year-old aunt, notified the Fire Department then fled the house unharmed.
When Peabody Fire’s Engine 1 and Car 2 with Officer in Charge Tracy Collins arrived on scene, there were no visible flames, but smoke was pouring from under the attic eaves, said fire Chief Jay Dowling.
There was an initial issue with a frozen hydrant, he said, but that was resolved, and water flow was established without significant delay.
Firefighters stretched out the hoses and prepared to fight the blaze from the basement, but the fire had already traveled up the chimney chase from the basement to the first and second floors.
Engines 3 and 7 were on scene along with the chief and training officer. Mutual aid companies from Lynn and Salem arrived once the second alarm was struck.
Dowling said they were able to move the lines efficiently and vent the roof and all three floors in coordination with the fire attack to extinguish the fire.
Although the main blaze was in the basement area of the furnace, the fire had extended throughout much of the walls along the rear of the house and into the ceiling in the same area, he said, significantly increasing the time to determine if the flames had been fully extinguished.
The home suffered extensive damage from the flames, but the two occupants have been able to find temporary homes with area relatives, according to officials. Damages were estimated in the vicinity of $125,000.
Dowling said investigators have been unable to determine the exact cause of the fire but that it did happen in the immediate vicinity of the furnace and is not thought to be suspicious.
Mutual aid coverage was provided by Lynn, Lynnfield, Salem, Beverly, Swampscott and Danvers. Atlantic Ambulance was on scene, as was Rehab 5 to provide snacks and liquids to the firefighters.
Firefighters cleared the scene at about 11 a.m.