Heavy Fire at Three Alarm Blaze in Rockland

ROCKLAND - MA (PLYMOUTH COUNTY) - In the early afternoon of April
11th 2009 the Rockland Fire Department received a call for a reported fire in a bedroom, on 873 Union St. Box 33 was struck shortly after the call to make all units and receivers aware of the reported house fire.

Once the Rockland Ladder and Engine 3 arrived on scene, a 2nd alarm was
immediately requested. This was due to the fact that the companies encountered heavy fire conditions and a large structure. Four Firefighters entered the building, but were shortly called out because conditions were too dangerous to work in.

After the firefighters were out, defensive operations took place. Rockland
Engine 3 and Ladder 1's heavy stream appliances were utilized to submerge the fire with hundreds of gallons of water. Portable monitors were also positioned in strategic places to contain the blaze. Rockland's Ladder, along with Whitman's ladder were working side by side to help wet down the blaze. But this was a hassle, because the roof of the building was made of metal/tin, causing the fire to act as a furnace. This made for a stressful situation for firefighters to face.

As conditions in the fire deteriorated, so didn't the weather. It was slightly
misting when the first crew's arrived, but about 2 hours into the fire, it began to have a mix of sleet and snow.

The fire after hours of battling, was knocked down around 8 pm, but shortly after rekindled and was taken care of in a matter of minutes. Intensive overhauling took place. Mutual aid was given to the scene and station. Some towns that provided mutual aid units were, Abington, Whitman, Hanson, Hanover, Hingham, Norwell, Holbrook, Brockton and Weymouth. Some specialized vehicles arrived including, Brockton's Tactical Support Unit, Bridgewater's lighting unit, Department of Fire Services Incident Rehab Unit, Massachusetts State Police Fire Marshalls, and the Whitman CERT team.

One firefighter sustained minor injuries, but continued to battle the blaze without any hindrance. Surprisingly all of the family members made it out building safely without injuries. Firefighters rescued several animals, including dogs and birds.

Fire causes heavy damage to Rockland multi-family home