DEDHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Firefighters battled a second-alarm house fire in Dedham Wednesday afternoon before a crew demolished the destroyed home, according to the Dedham Fire Department.
The fire broke out at 30 Elmview Place just after 4 p.m., the fire department said. Fire crews worked to put out the fire amid the sweltering hot weather.
Fire crews called for backup from surrounding communities at around 4:35 p.m.
Cell phone video from earlier Wednesday afternoon shows flames protruding from the home next to Dedham High School. The trees and surrounding area were also engulfed in flames.
The fire tore through every floor of the home and wires could be seen sparking outside.
“I looked out the window, and as you see in my video, there was an orange kind of like a breathing or like a moving thing coming and then I looked closer, and it’s coming from inside the house’s windows,” said next door neighbor Vivien Wu.
Part of the high school was scorched, and the fire melted several plexiglass windows on the side of the building. Building inspectors were called in to check out the school, and it was given the “all clear.”
The nearby public pool was also evacuated due to the encroaching blaze, according to Dedham’s Park and Recreation Director Robert Stanley. Soot and ash were falling into the water.
“I looked up in the sky and I saw smoke billowing from this general area, which is where my town’s swimming pool is, so I thought I might track and sprint it down here,” Stanley said.
“It was quite an impressive scene,” Stanley continued. “Fire department did a great job knocking it down.”
Fire crews remained on scene as of 6 p.m. to investigate the cause of the fire and to make sure the blaze stayed out.
The high temperatures created dangerous conditions for the firefighters, and many of them took frequent water breaks throughout the afternoon. A few of them were checked out for heat exhaustion, according to the department.
At 10 p.m., crews were demolishing the house, as it was considered a total loss.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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