Firefighters saved a Fort Seward home Saturday, putting out a basement fire before it could reach the structure above.

The fire started just after 11 a.m. when a spark from a wood stove ignited flammable material nearby, both homeowner Fred Shields and Haines fire chief Zak Overmyer said.

The first fire crews into the basement reported heavy smoke but were able to contain the fire within roughly ten minutes using handheld, water-filled fire extinguishers, Overmyer said.

Shields this week was still working to sort through burnt ash and debris in the basement. Damage around the basement wood-stove includes burns on walls and ceilings and broken windows. While his home and art-gallery above were undamaged, they will have to be professionally cleaned due to smoke, he said.

Shields expects insurance to cover repairs to the basement; likely the more difficult cost will be personal possessions. Many of them, badly charred, Shields took one last look at while cleaning this week, before tossing them finally into the stove that had started the fire.

“There’s an emotional piece to it,” Shields said Tuesday.

Both he and Overmyer commended the effectiveness of the fire crews that responded, which totalled 14 firefighters from the Haines Volunteer Fire Department and eight from the Klehini Valley Fire Department.

“Without the quick response time and the professionalism of the fire department, the outcome may have been very different,” Shields said.

The firehouse was empty when the fire was reported, with an on-duty fire-captain and EMT out on an ambulance call. Nevertheless, firefighters responding from home had the first truck out of the station, crewed by four firefighters, four minutes after first report of the fire, Overmyer said.

Speed was of particular concern given the old fort home, which Overmyer said poses a particular risk, given old, dry wood, potential lack of firebreaks between floors, and studs running from basement to attic.