Five-Alarm Fire Tears Through Atlantic Avenue in Salisbury, MA: 2 Injured, 15 Communities Respond
Last updated: · This is a developing story.
A fast-moving fire tore through four buildings on Atlantic Avenue in Salisbury, Massachusetts, Friday evening, injuring two people and drawing firefighters and emergency personnel from roughly 15 communities across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. What began as a single-structure call escalated to a five-alarm response within minutes, as flames jumped between closely packed buildings near Salisbury Beach.
Quick facts: 4 buildings involved · 2 people seriously injured, non-life-threatening · ~15 communities responded · No firefighters hurt · Cause under investigation
Situation Summary
Multiple 911 callers reported a structure fire at 24 Atlantic Avenue at approximately 6:52 p.m. Friday. Salisbury Police arrived within minutes and reported heavy smoke showing, with one person already suffering serious burn injuries. Salisbury Fire Chief Scott Carrigan said responding crews could see smoke and flames from a distance before they even reached the scene. A first alarm went out almost immediately, and command quickly struck a third alarm for additional mutual aid, which was upgraded again to a fifth alarm as the fire spread. By roughly 8:13 p.m., command reported the fire knocked down, with crews shifting to overhaul and hot-spot extinguishment. The blaze appeared largely out by around 8:30 p.m., roughly two hours after the first call.
Atlantic Avenue Impact
Heavy fire shot through two buildings before spreading to two more, for four structures significantly involved in total; several other nearby buildings sustained minor damage. Chief Carrigan attributed much of the rapid spread to how closely the buildings sit together in that neighborhood. Two people who were outside the building suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital; Atlantic EMS, which provided medical support on scene, initially reported a third patient in early radio traffic. Firefighters rescued a dog and a cat from the building, though it remained unconfirmed whether additional pets were inside. All residents of the affected buildings were accounted for, though officials had not yet confirmed a total headcount. Power to homes in the area was knocked out, and a restoration timeline had not been announced as of the latest reports.
Response & Official Statements
Because of the building's location, mutual aid took some time to reach the scene, and Salisbury's initial arriving apparatus operated for a stretch with a limited number of firefighters against rapidly developing fire conditions. An off-duty firefighter from another department happened to be nearby and pitched in on rescue and suppression efforts before additional crews arrived; that firefighter's home department hadn't been confirmed as of the latest reporting. In total, personnel from roughly 15 communities across Massachusetts and New Hampshire assisted, and Massachusetts State Police helped manage traffic control and detours around the scene. No firefighters were injured. Fire marshals have not released a cause, and the investigation remains ongoing.
What Residents Should Know Right Now
- ✓Avoid the immediate area of Atlantic Avenue while crews continue clearing debris and confirming the remaining structures are safe.
- ✓Expect traffic detours nearby — Massachusetts State Police is assisting with traffic control around the scene.
- ✓Power is out to homes in the area; no restoration timeline has been announced yet.
- ✓If you're missing a pet from the building, a dog and a cat were rescued and are accounted for — check with Salisbury Fire or Police for the status of any other animals.
Related Prior Incident: Salisbury's 2022 9-Alarm Motel Fire
Friday's fire wasn't Salisbury's first brush with a major multi-alarm blaze. In January 2022, a wind-driven fire that started near Michael's Oceanfront Motel on Central Avenue escalated to nine alarms overnight, ultimately destroying a 12-unit apartment building and leaving the motel a total loss. More than 100 firefighters from 30 departments across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine responded, and the Red Cross assisted more than 30 displaced residents. No injuries were reported in that fire, which Chief Carrigan — the same chief who led Friday's response — called one of the worst the town had seen in 25 years. The recurrence of a large multi-alarm fire in the same small coastal town underscores how quickly Salisbury's tightly packed beachfront buildings can turn a single-structure call into a regional mutual aid response.
What's Ahead
The cause of Friday's fire remains under investigation, and officials have not said whether it will be classified as accidental. The full extent of displacement — how many residents will be unable to return to the damaged buildings — had not been finalized as of the latest updates. This is a developing story, and details including the cause, total number of displaced residents, and any assistance response from organizations like the Red Cross may be updated as officials release more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a five-alarm fire mean?
A five-alarm designation signals that a fire has grown beyond what the local fire department's own equipment and personnel can safely handle, requiring a large mutual aid response from surrounding communities. Each additional alarm typically brings more engines, ladder trucks, and firefighters to the scene; a five-alarm fire like the one on Atlantic Avenue is considered a major incident, and in this case it drew help from roughly 15 different communities across Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
What is mutual aid in the fire service?
Mutual aid is a formal agreement between neighboring fire departments to send apparatus and personnel to help each other during large or fast-moving incidents that exceed one department's own resources. It's especially critical in smaller coastal towns like Salisbury, where a single department can be quickly overwhelmed by a fire that spreads between closely spaced buildings, and where response can take longer depending on the location of the incident.
Was anyone killed in the Salisbury, MA fire?
No deaths have been reported. Salisbury Fire Chief Scott Carrigan said two people suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to an area hospital; no firefighters were reported injured, and all residents of the affected buildings were accounted for, though the total headcount was still being confirmed as of the latest reports.
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