Smoke poured from a multi-family home on Spring Street in Brockton on Monday morning as firefighters climbed ladders to the roof and worked both inside and outside the burning building. The fire was reported around 8:30 a.m. in the 300 block of Spring Street, triggering a heavy response from multiple fire departments.
Area fire departments were called in to provide mutual aid assistance due to the size of the blaze, according to NBC Boston. The fire produced heavy smoke from the multiple-story building, and firefighters were stationed on top of the structure as crews extended ladders to the roof. No further details were immediately available from the outlet.
Flames Visible From the Street
Video from the scene showed damage to the triple-decker on Spring Street, with smoke pouring out of the building as firefighters worked both inside and outside, according to WHDH 7News. The station's footage captured the scale of the response as crews moved in to attack the fire from multiple angles.
Why Triple-Deckers Pose Added Risk
Fires like this one are a familiar and difficult challenge for Brockton's fire department. Fire officials in Brockton and other Massachusetts cities say a disproportionate majority of their structure-fire responses involve three-decker buildings, per WGBH. Many of these century-old wood-frame homes were built without fire blocking, material that can slow or stop flames from spreading between floors and walls, the station has reported.
Triple-deckers remain a cornerstone of affordable housing in Brockton and other former industrial cities across Massachusetts, including Worcester, Fall River and New Bedford, according to the same WGBH report. That dual reality, housing stock that's both affordable and fire-prone, has long complicated efforts by local fire departments to reduce the frequency of serious blazes in these dense residential buildings.
