BEVERLY, MASS. (WHDH) – Firefighters battled a fast-moving house fire in Beverly on Sunday that left four people displaced and a dog so severely injured that it will have to be put down, officials said.
Crews responding to a reported structure fire around noon on Hale Park Avenue found flames spreading from the garage to the house.
Paul Barr said he knew something was wrong when his home was suddenly filled with smoke.
“I opened up the door and that’s when flames came in,” he said. “My wife was upstairs and saw the smoke from the kitchen. I went to check it out, and that’s when the smoke was pouring through the door.”
Barr said he and his family was able to get out safely and a neighbor helped him reach his dog, which suffered severe burns.
Beverly Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Smith said, “We did a lot of digging in the house to get the smoldering fire buried in the walls. It was an extremely hard fire … a lot of it was hidden.”
Barr said he’s grateful to his neighbors for their help.
“These things unfortunately happen all the time and you just don’t expect them to necessarily happen to you or in your neighborhoo,” he said.
The family says the dog’s injuries were so severe it will have to be put down.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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