Help me choose the correct tense (The fireman had saved the house before much...)

[BuddhaGeo]

The fireman had saved the house before much damage was done
OR
The fireman saved the house before much damage was done
--
Which one is correct, or are both correct but with different meanings?
Thanks in advance

[Terrestr1al]

The second one is most correct.

While I am not fully confident in my answer being correct, the second one is most likely to be used by a native-English speaker.

[BuddhaGeo]

I simply had this in my test and I was wondering which one is grammatically correct, not merely what an English-speaker would use.