WEST NEWBURY — The West Newbury Fire Department and its mutual aid partners battled a four-alarm house fire early on Saturday evening.
Firefighters responded at 6:47 p.m. to 17 Brown Lane for a report of a garage fire attached to a house. First arriving crews found heavy fire and immediately requested a working fire response, followed quickly by a second and then a third alarm response due to the intensity of the fire but also because of the need for additional tankers to provide water for firefighting efforts. A fourth alarm was later called for additional support.
Water availability in the area created extreme challenges in battling the fire. A water supply command was established to manage the incoming mutual aid tankers and ensure that sufficient water was available to firefighters.
Mutual aid was provided by the Boxford, East Kingston, N.H., Essex, Georgetown, Groveland, Hampton Falls, N.H., Merrimac, Newbury, Newburyport, Rye, N.H., and Salisbury Fire Departments. The Seacoast Fire Chiefs Mutual Aid District responded with a regional air trailer and a tanker. Fire department tankers responded from eight Massachusetts and New Hampshire communities. The Boxford, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen, and Rowley Fire Departments provided station coverage to West Newbury during the incident.
Crews remain on the scene as of 9 p.m.
