BROCKTON, MA – The effort to douse the fire was made more difficult by the accumulation of clutter throughout the 1 1/2-story home in the Campello section of the city, according to the Fire Department.
A one-alarm fire became a two-alarm fire due to a build-up of clutter stored inside a house at 199 Perkins Ave. in Brockton, after it was reported by 911 at 2:52 a.m. on Sunday, said Deputy Fire Chief Joe Marchetti.
"The firefighting efforts were hampered by the accumulation of stored contents in the house," said Marchetti, reached later on Sunday morning. "It delayed firefighters getting water to the scene of the fire. ... It was a fire that typically we would handle with one alarm assignment, but due to the accumulated storage in the house, it made it difficult to get the firefighters to bring the hose in and we went to a second alarm."
Two men were home when the fire started, but they were able to evacuate the building with two dogs, safely escaping the house as firefighters arrived on scene, Marchetti said.
"They heard crackling and saw smoke and evacuated the building and got their pets out," Marchetti said. "They were getting out as we arrived."
At this point, the Fire Department has not determined a cause for the fire, which was based on the second floor," Marchetti said. The fire is still under investigation. However, it does not appear suspicious, Marchetti said.
It took about 30 to 35 minutes using handlines to douse the flames, which could be seen jumping from the roof of the building, escaping through a hole created by firefighters to ventilate the home, Marchetti said.
"We were ventilating super heated gases in the fire by cutting a hole in roof," he said. "That allows interior firefighters to make way to scene of fire."
The building was left uninhabitable as a result of fire and water damage, and the two people living there were provided temporary shelter by the American Red Cross, which responded to the scene on Sunday morning, according to the agency.
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