A difficult fire tore through a family's home in Dracut, Massachusetts, on Sunday afternoon, leaving four people without a home and one of their pet cats dead.
The Dracut Fire Department received multiple 911 calls reporting a fire in the two-story, single-family home on Lakeview Avenue just before 4 p.m. Firefighters found heavy fire showing from the front of the home upon arrival, and more crews were called to the scene to assist.
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Firefighters from Lowell, Tyngsborough, and Methuen, as well as crews from Pelham and Hudson, New Hampshire, departments provided mutual aid.
According to the fire chief, the home's balloon-frame construction allowed the fire to spread between walls, so firefighters had to cut open walls to reach all the flames, which was a labor-intensive process.
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The fire was knocked down just before 5:45 p.m. Officials said fire damage was contained to the home's kitchen and breezeway, but the house sustained smoke and water damage throughout.
"Companies did a great job containing the fire to the two rooms in the kitchen and the breezeway," Chief Richard Patterson said in a statement. "Companies were able to limit the fire damage throughout the rest of the house, though there was heat and smoke damage throughout."
The family of four has been displaced from their home and was staying with family members Sunday night.
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One of the family's pet cats was rescued from the fire but another died.
The origin and cause of the fire remain under investigation.
