Flames tore through a home in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, on Sunday, destroying it.
The East Bridgewater Fire Department says it received multiple 911 calls around 12:12 p.m. for a structure fire at 53 Old Bedford Road, and multiple neighboring fire departments responded to provide mutual aid, including Brockton, Abington, Bridgewater, Hanson, West Bridgewater and Whitman.
A passerby saw the flames and banged on the door to alert those inside. The fire chief says the resident told him his wife, their son and dog had to escape through a window. All residents were able to escape without injury, however several pet cats were unaccounted for.
The fire was advanced by the time firefighters arrived on scene, with flames spreading to much of the home -- a 2-story, L-shaped welling -- as well as vehicles and the deck.
There were also some issues with a fire hydrant that delayed getting a water supply established, the fire department said.
The home is a total loss, the damage so severe that it was torn down later Sunday, something that East Bridgewater's fire chief says is not a common occurrence.
Old Bedford Road residents say they're worried sick about their neighbors, who they identified as the Adao family and another woman who lived on the other side of the duplex -- all left with nothing.
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"It's devastating. They're good people," one neighbor said.
The Red Cross was responding to assist those displaced.
Two people who were driving down the street at the time said the flames were as tall as the trees.
"There was all black smoke, pretty heavy flames, it was very hot, you could feel it when we were walking on the sidewalk, you could actually feel the heat," Ethan Howard said. "I've seen fires before but nothing like this one...The firefighters took a little time to get it but they got it."
Phillip DelVecchio and his mother spent the entire day watching dozens of firefighters battling the intense flames and heavy smoke.
"I got out of the shower and heard like banging noises and I come outside, and the whole front porch is on fire and I basically watched the whole house collapse and everything," DelVecchio said.
All that's left now is a pile of rubble.
"It’s scary," Varnell DelVechio said. "It’s really scary to see something like this happen in your own neighborhood so close to home."
Officials say it looks like the fire may have started on the right side of the home. The cause is still under investigation.
