BROCKTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Demolition crews began dismantling what was left of a more than century-old home in Brockton Thursday, hours after a fire devoured the home and spread to a building next door.
Three people suffered minor injuries and 19 people were displaced as a result of the fire. Still, some residents who said they lost everything also said they feel lucky things weren’t worse.
“We are lucky to have our lives,” said resident Maria Rogers. “That’s the most important thing.”
“I just hope that we get some help,” Rogers continued. “I don’t know where we’re doing or what we’re doing. We don’t have nothing. I left everything inside.”
Brockton fire officials said crews responding to reports of a structure fire on South Street around 3 a.m. found two large residential buildings in flames.
Some residents made it out the back of the most heavily damaged structure at 37 South Street but ended up trapped in a fenced-in backyard before Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said crews cut the fence to get residents to safety.
Rogers was among those stuck in the backyard. She said her dog, Bentley, may have saved her life, barking to wake her up.
“If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have woke up,” she said.
From 37 South Street, flames jumped to a multi-family residence next door at 35 South Street, causing heavy damage. There, the building’s owner said he woke up as his daughter banged on his bedroom door.
“As a precaution, we came out and the fire spread onto our property,” said Fausto Barros.
Nardelli said downed electrical wires were among the challenges facing firefighters early Thursday morning. Lines to houses had fallen and burned away from both houses, Nardelli said, and the lines were then laying in the street as crews arrived.
“National Grid did a great job getting here, getting those cut and the power terminated so we could work,” Nardelli said.
The Red Cross is providing short term aid to individuals displaced by Thursday’s fire.
An investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing as of Thursday afternoon.
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