A Magnolia house fire claimed the lives of two dogs but injured no people and caused significant damage to the building.
The Gloucester Fire and Police departments as well as Gloucester and Beauport ambulances responded to the fire at 146 Magnolia Ave. around 12:42 p.m. Monday after a passerby reported smoke coming from the house, fire Chief Eric Smith said.
“That’s a pretty good indication that there’s a heavy buildup of smoke when it’s pushing outside the house and the house was closed up pretty tight,” Smith said. “At whatever point windows started to fail due to the heat and then the fire took off.”
The first crews arrived just under two minutes later and began attacking the fire from outside and knocked it down enough to get inside and continue mitigating the blaze.
Douglas Shatford was driving by the house when he noticed the smoke coming from it and pulled over to try extinguishing it with a garden hose as another passerby called 911.
“I jumped out and grabbed a hose and I ran to the back of the building because there was too much smoke in the front,” Shatford said. “I opened the back door and started hosing down the inside and I was calling for the dogs but I didn’t hear anything.”
Shatford said he dropped the hose and ran to the street when he saw flames coming from the back of the house.
Smith said crews reported the house was filled with smoke when they arrived and that fire could be seen throughout most of the front of the building.
Smith said the family was evacuated but the blaze claimed the lives of two dogs.
National Grid arrived to assist with shutting off power to the building. The Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea fire departments provided station coverage.
Fire officials said the fire was knocked down around 1:22 p.m.
The fire broke several windows and left much of the building’s exterior charred, especially the front of the house. Smith said it will ultimately be up to the family and insurance company to determine if the house is a total loss. Based on the damage, Smith said he considered the house a “significant loss, if not a complete loss” but that is yet to be officially determined.
As of 1:48 p.m. Monday, crews were still on scene inspecting the inside and ensuring there was no risk of a fire restarting.
“I want to thank our on-duty personnel and mutual aid partners for their quick response,” Smith said later in a prepared statement. “Due to our crews, we kept this to a working fire and minimized damage from extending to the surrounding areas.”
The cause and circumstances leading up to the fire are still to be determined in a joint investigation between the State Department of Fire Services and the Gloucester Police and Fire departments.
Smith said the family will work with Red Cross to find temporary housing while working out next steps.