12/30/2017 - BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS (PLYMOUTH COUNTY) - Around 1315 hours on the afternoon of Saturday, December 30, 2017 the Brockton Fire Alarm office received a central station alarm for a general fire alarm at 1 Brockton Avenue; Squad-A, Engine-7 and Ladder-1 responded. There was a follow up call from the central station alarm company reporting a fire in the building as well as another call for smoke in the area. Box-4531 was filled out to include Engine-2. Ladder-4 and Engine-4 were both tied up on a multiple vehicle accident which came in just prior to the box. Squad-A arrived and found fire showing from an approximately 150' x 200', 1.5 story wood frame, attached to a 1-story wood frame, which was attached to a 2-story barn. The building was formerly used as a wood working shop. Car-56 arrived a struck a working fire, bringing Engine-4 and Ladder-2 to the scene. All occupants were reported out of the building when crews arrived. A few minutes after the working fire was requested, a second alarm was struck. Heavy fire had consumed the 1.5-story wood frame and was extending into the single story section of the large commercial building. Incoming apparatus was placed on the "A" and "C" sides of the building. All companies were pulled out of the building around 20-minutes into the incident and crews went to a defensive exterior attack. The deck gun of Squad-A was put into service, along with the ladder pipes from Ladder-1 and Ladder-2, along with several hand lines around the building. Additional hand lines as well as ladder pipes from Ladder-4 and Abington Tower-1 were put into operation later into the incident. Crews not only had to battle the flames from the building fire, but bitterly cold conditions on-scene with temps in the teens and occasional snow flurries. Brockton's Public Works Department made several trips to the scene, dropping sand and salt for the icy conditions on the roadways. Around 30-minutes into the incident, Chief of Department Michael Williams struck a third alarm. Fire spread throughout the large commercial building, and consumed the 2-story barn at the end of the complex. Ultimately, the fire went to five alarms and crews remained on-scene for most of the evening knocking down the blaze and hitting hot spots. Mutual aid from Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Easton, Holbrook, Randolph, Stoughton, West Bridgewater, and Whitman worked on the scene and covered stations in Brockton during the incident. Incident support were provided on the scene from the Boston Sparks Association, Brockton Emergency Management, Providence Canteen, the Salvation Army, and the Massachusetts DFS Rehab Unit. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. No injuries were encountered on the scene. Firefighters remained on-scene into the morning, continuing to douse hot spots in the large burned out building.
