Firefighters revive dog after massive Townsend fire that drew 14 departments

A home was deemed a total loss following a five-alarm fire Sunday morning in Townsend, but firefighters were able to save a dog and a rabbit, officials told reporters at the scene.

Firefighters arrived at the scene at 205 Main St. shortly after 10:15 a.m. for a two-alarm fire, and by noon, it was upgraded to five alarm, Townsend fire and EMS officials noted in a Facebook post.

“We got in the building, found an unconscious dog and a rabbit,” Townsend fire Chief Gary Shepherd told reporters at the scene, including CBS Boston. “(We) retrieved the dog, resuscitated the dog, and to my understanding, after they gave it air and oxygen, the dog was alive and walking around.”

The fire took four hours to extinguish with mutual aid from 14 surrounding communities, CBS reported.

“With the compromised floors both on the first floor and the second floor we couldn’t put crews inside for very long,” Shepherd said, according to CBS. “We had to evacuate the building.” 

Two firefighters were transported to the hospital — one for observation for likely dehydration or heat-related concerns, and the other for a cut on their finger — but there were no major injuries, NBC10 Boston reported.

Shepherd told reporters that the family was not home at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal’s Office, according to Boston 25 News.