02/24/2015 - ROCKLAND, MASSACHUSETTS (PLYMOUTH COUNTY) - Around 1630 hours on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 24, 2015 the Rockland Fire Department struck a box for a reported house fire at 110 Emerson Street. Companies arrived to find smoke and fire showing from a 1-story ranch style house. A working fire was requested bringing mutual aid from Abington, and Hanover engines to the scene, and a Hingham engine to cover. A line was stretched off of Engine-1 into the house. The interior crew encountered heavy fire conditions in the house. The fire appeared to start in a bedroom on the "D" side of the house. When the window to the room self-vented, it sent wind gusts into the house, sending heavy fire down the hallway. The crew from Ladder-1 climbed a ground ladder to the roof and opened up. Companies reported that the roof felt spongy as they cut a hole to vent the smoke and heat. Crews found a shoveled out hydrant near the home, at the end of the dead end street. Due to extreme cold weather plaguing the area, the steamer cap was frozen in place, and took several firefighters efforts to open the hydrant. An additional engine company was requested to the scene, bringing the Hingham engine out of the coverage assignment. They were replaced with a Norwell engine. Due to the extreme cold and freezing conditions, the Rockland DPW responded with a front end loader full of salt, that crews spread around the fire ground. The two occupants of the house were not injured following the blaze. It was unclear if they were home at the time the fire broke out. The Red Cross was requested to assist the occupants, as the house was not inhabitable following the blaze. Plymouth County Sheriffs Department BCI Unit and the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal's Office was requested to the scene to assist in investigation.
