Truesee's Daily Wonder

Brockton fire caused by children jumping on mattress

November 26, 2009 09:30 PM

Globe photo by George Rizer

Megan Lopes (center) and other burned-out residents talk with a Brockton fire official last night.

Jack Nicas

Globe Correspondent

A fire that tore through two Brockton triple-deckers Thursday night, driving 33 residents out of their homes, was started by children jumping on a bed, fire officials said today.

“They were bouncing up and down on two mattresses and a box spring that were up against a wall where a plug was,” said Brockton Fire Lieutenant Edward Williams.

The back-and-forth motion of the mattresses abraded a transformer for a cell phone charger, Williams said. “I believe they broke the plastic apart, and that caused a short circuit that either heated up enough, or caused sparks, to catch the mattress on fire.”

After the children were shooed out of the second-floor room for making too much noise, the fire flared up just after 8 p.m. at 609 Warren Ave. As the three-story apartment building ignited, its windows blew out, spreading flames to another triple-decker six feet away, Williams said.

Six Brockton engines and three ladder companies responded to the fire, knocking it down by 11:15 p.m. Two firefighters suffered puncture wounds and cuts, but neither was hospitalized, Williams said.

Fire officials estimate $150,000 in damages to the initial building, and $50,000 to the second.

The American Red Cross housed 21 of the residents last night, including eight children, Winnie Dimock, an official with the Red Cross Massachusetts Bay chapter, said today.

Two families, from the first and third floor of 609 Warren Ave., found their own housing, Williams said. They were not at the scene when Red Cross officials responded just before 10 p.m., Dimock said.

The Red Cross took in the three families from 613 Warren Ave. and the family of eight from the unit where the fire started. That family, which includes three children and three young adults just over 18, was the only family to lose all of their belongings, Dimock said.

“We have them in a hotel for the rest of the weekend,” Dimock said. “Then we refer them to other agencies for further assistance.”

Williams, from the fire department, said there is fire damage on several floors of the buildings and heat, water, and smoke damage throughout both. The buildings will be livable again, but it could be nearly a year until then, he said.

“Both of the buildings can be salvaged,” he said, “no doubt about it.”

Below is the Globe's account of the fire originally posted Thursday night.

Michael Corcoran, Globe Correspondent

A fast-moving fire jumped from one Brockton triple decker to a second one tonight, causing extensive damage to both buildings and leaving 18 residents, including five children, temporarily without homes on Thanksgiving.

The fire broke out just after 8 p.m., in the second floor of a three-story apartment building at 609 Warren Ave.,according to Brockton fire officials. The fire soon spread to a neighboring building at 613 Warren and continued to burn until 8:43 p.m., when firefighters extinguished the blaze.

Fire officials were not sure of the total damage late tonight but said it was “extensive.” The cause of the fire is under investigation. No initial injuries were reported.

Neighbors crowded the surrounding streets to watch as flames shot out of the top of one building.

The Red Cross was contacted to assist the 18 people who were knocked out of their homes. A Red Cross spokeswoman said the organization provides temporary housing to people who are displaced in a disaster.

Earlier in the day, a fire in North Reading also disrupted the holiday.

The blaze, caused by an electrical problem, destroyed two unoccupied homes on Swan Pond Road, North Reading fire officials said. Fire Captain Barry Galvin said that when they reached the homes on Swan Pond Road shortly after 6:30 a.m., the buildings were already engulfed.

The fire originated in a small "camp-style" house and spread to a larger house that was under construction. "Both structures were a total loss," Galvin said. The cause was an "electrical accident" in the smaller home, State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan said. 

There were no injuries, officials said.