BROCKTON - Several surrounding homes were evacuated and a firefighter was hurt battling a raging blaze that engulfed an aging, wooden warehouse building in Brockton on Thursday night.
The old Antiques and Restoration building, located at corner of Elliot and North Montello streets, went up in flames around 8:30 p.m., before developing into a massive seven-alarm fire, according to the Brockton Fire Department.
A large portion of the structure collapsed, revealing a massive opening in the warehouse building, which contained furniture that was sold on Craigslist. Several neighbors were evacuated by the fire department and power was cut to the area.
The MBTA commuter rail, which has a nearby station, was also shut down as a result of the conflagration, and shuttle buses were used to take passengers the rest of the way on the Middleboro Line.
One Whitman firefighter was hurt battling the blaze and was taken to the hospital, said Brockton Fire Chief Michael Williams. The chief was not able to confirm the nature of the injuries as of deadline.
As the blaze continued to burn as of 11 p.m., firefighters kept their hoses trained on the sprawling four-floor building that spans a block at 243 North Montello St. in the downtown Brockton area. Williams said he expected the firefighting operation to last through the morning.
"It's a pretty heavy operation here," Williams said at the time. "It's pretty involved on the other side. ... Right now, it's trying to control the fire."
No one in the building at the time of the fire was harmed, Williams said.
A man who identified himself as a co-owner of the building, Fred Montgomery, declined to comment as he sat watching the building burn from across the street. Montgomery said he owned the building for 40 years.
"I can't tell you anything right now," Montgomery said.
Montgomery ran a furniture restoration and repair business out of the North Montello Street warehouse building, with a company called Bay State Restorations, according to a profile on the Better Business Bureau website.
Gene Darling, who works doing odd jobs for Montgomery and others in the neighborhood, said that they were working on a vehicle in a large car bay in the building when the fire broke out. But he was not clear on the cause of the fire.
"I was in there working with the owner on a vehicle," Darling said. "We called the fire department twice."
Darling said that the building was filled with furniture, which Montgomery sold on Craiglist.
Darling said no one lived in the warehouse building.
"There was still all furniture in there, all kinds of antiques and everything," he said.
Darling said the wooden building was the former Brockton-Taunton Lumber company. He said the warehouse building was constructed in the 1800s, and that it featured an area once used for horse and buggies.
Darling said he stayed in a trailer at the site, where he kept his medication, money and other possessions.
"Pretty difficult night is right," he said. "It sucks."
In addition to the Brockton Fire Department, assistance was provided by firefighters from Abington, Avon, Whitman, East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, Raynham, Holbrook, Stoughton, Rockland, Braintree, Easton and Randolph.
Keri Lynne, a neighborhood resident, was among the large crowd that congregated at the scene, staying to watch for hours as dozens of firefighters battered the building with high-pressure water lines.
"I could see the flames from my house," Lynne said. "I could see it when the flames reached the roof. I ran over there. It's scary. The fire goes all the way down the building. The building is massive."
Lynne said that, thinking about the age of the building and its poor condition, she's not surprised that the fire broke out there.
"It was just a matter of time," she said.
Lynne also said she was told by Darling that he and the property owner were working on wiring in the building when the fire broke out.
"He said they were inside working on the wiring and stuff, and then it caught on fire," she said.
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