Multi-alarm fire destroys barn, damages home in Stoneham

STONEHAM, Mass. — A barn was completely destroyed by a three-alarm fire in Stoneham late Saturday night.

Firefighters say that, when they arrived on scene shortly after receiving the call at 9:24 p.m., the massive fire was taking over the barn and began spreading into the attic of the house. The roof of the house collapsed during attempts to extinguish the flames, which lasted about four hours.

The blaze occurred on Emery Court in the town. The family living in the house was not home at the time of the fire, but one horse died in the barn.

Firefighters say the location of the building made knocking down the flames more difficult.

"It's a dead-end dirt road," said Captain Matthew Rexrode of Stoneham Fire. "The hydrant all the way at the end – we ran out of water quick on that. We have one more at the beginning of the top, which we had an out of town company pumping. It's a single lane dirt road and we had a lot of problems getting equipment down here."

Several other local fire departments had members assist in fighting the blaze.

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Three firefighters were treated at the scene for minor heat-related injuries.

Firefighters were on scene until 3 a.m. on Sunday. No word yet on what might have caused that fire, though officials estimate the damages caused by the blaze are between $700,000 and $800,000.

Cox Media Group