GROTON — On Sunday, April 19, 2026, at approximately 9:50 a.m., Groton police and firefighters responded to a report of a fire at 180 Martins Pond Road, a former barn that was converted into a residence.
According to Groton Fire Chief Arthur Cheeks, the first police officer and firefighters to arrive at the scene found the building on fire with two people inside.
“Heavy flames were found at the rear of the building, a 2.5-story converted barn residence that is attached to a single-story home via a breezeway,” Chief Cheeks said in a statement.
Groton firefighters stretched two hose lines to the rear of the property — one to extinguish the fire in the converted barn and another to protect a nearby single-story home.
A second alarm was eventually struck, and nine additional fire departments responded to the scene to provide mutual aid.
“The occupants of the home safely evacuated and then were evaluated on scene, before being released by Lunenburg Rescue 1 paramedics,” Chief Cheeks said. “No injuries were reported, but several pets are unaccounted for as a result of the fire.”
Fire crews remained on scene until about 1:30 p.m. to douse remaining hot spots.
Mutual aid was provided by the fire departments from Ayer, Littleton, Dunstable, Pepperell, Devens, Lunenburg, Tyngsborough, Hollis and Westford. The Harvard and Townsend fire departments each sent an engine to provide station coverage in Groton while local crews remained on scene.
“I’d like to give credit to our Groton Firefighters and mutual aid partners. This was a difficult fire that threatened to spread to the neighboring building,” Chief Cheeks said. “Thanks to their efforts, this fire was contained and no one was hurt.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Groton Fire Department and the Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s Office.