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An early morning fire started at a large residential building at 37 South Street in Brockton on Thursday, June 1, sending four people to the hospital and rendering one building a total loss, according to Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli.
Calls came in around 2:45 a.m., sending firefighters to the scene of a three-story, wood-frame house from which fire was billowing out of windows and off the porch.
A second, third, and fourth alarm was struck as the deputy chief and chief arrived on the scene of the fire that spread to a next-door residential building at 35 South Street.
All 11 occupants of 37 South Street and all eight occupants of 35 South Street evacuated, but some escaped through a back door and were trapped by a fence.
Radiant heat pulsed through the yard and through the stuck residents, who were rescued by firefighters who broke down the fence.
The residents were unable to escape because of high heat and smoke conditions, Nardelli said.
"These poor people couldn't even see in front of them," he said.
Two residents were hospitalized because of exhaustion and other factors, as well as two firefighters who received minor injuries.
The building at 37 South Street was a total loss and will likely be torn down later Thursday morning.
35 South Street has less damage, with the first two floors mostly suffering from water and smoke damage.
"The guys worked tremendously," Nardelli said, explaining that the amount of fire at the first building could have easily destroyed two or three buildings.
Mutual aid responded at the scene to assist with the battle.
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