Fire departments from Rockland, Abington, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brockton, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Holbrook, Pembroke, Norwell, Weymouth and Whitman battled the massive blaze

ROCKLAND — Sara Fonseca woke up to the sound of firefighters pounding on the front door of her Rockland home early Wednesday morning.

They were yelling for her to evacuate as a massive 7-alarm fire tore through an abandoned warehouse directly across the street.

As the inferno towered over the roof of the warehouse, Fonseca rushed to get her son and granddaughter out of the home to safety.

"I was shaking. I couldn't believe it. There was fire everywhere. Fire trucks all over the place," Fonseca, 48, said. "It was so bright I thought my house was on fire. It was like Hell. It was awful. Very scary."

SLIDESHOW WITH AUDIO FROM THE POLICE/FIRE SCANNER. STORY CONTINUES BELOW.



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Rockland firefighters responded to a report of the building ablaze at 76 Park St. around 4:45 a.m. The warehouse, which is about 6,000-square-feet, according to Fire Chief Scott Duffey, is nestled in a densely residential neighborhood between Union and Howard streets.

Duffey quickly and continuously called for assistance from surrounding communities throughout the early morning, until they rang their seventh alarm, summoning firefighters from at least 14 cities and towns as far away as Braintree and Holbrook.

"The initial arriving crews reported a fully involved building, but they said there was heavy, heavy fire in the front right part of the building," Duffey said. "At the time of the fire there was no working sprinkler system or fire alarm system within that property."

Don Smith is Fonseca's next-door neighbor. He was awoken by the fire engine horns as they left the station less than a quarter-mile away on Union Street. As the sound of the sirens drew closer to his house he got out of bed to see the warehouse on fire.

"That's when we popped up and opened the shades and took one look and the flames were just sky-high at that point. It didn't take long for it to spread through the whole building," Smith, 50, said. "First you spin in circles for a few minutes before you get your bearings. Then we saw the embers flying so I told everyone to get dressed and be prepared and we just hung in the house. We paid attention the whole time to make sure nothing was coming towards us."

Smith said the flames were burning 20 feet over the roof of the building.

Dozens of firefighters drove engines up on front lawns, pulled thousands of feet of hose and trudged through backyards, surrounding the warehouse and spraying it from all directions to keep it to spreading to the nearby homes.

Some hydrants on Union Street were used, with hoses stretched about a quarter-mile long down Park and Webster streets.

Electricity was shut off by National Grid to a large portion of the town as power lines were melted by the heat. Schools were put on a two-hour delay.

There were no injuries reported and property damage was minimized to melted siding, a damaged garage and shed and flooding.

"At this time we have no injuries which is absolutely amazing for an incident of this type," Duffey said. "The initial arriving companies did an incredible, incredible job."

By 10 a.m., most of the flames had been put out. However, large plumes of dense smoke still billowed from the wreckage, causing visibility and air quality concerns for firefighters and residents.

The hazmat and rehabilitation units of the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services responded, in addition to the State Fire Marshal's Office, Department of Environmental Protection, Salvation Army, Whitman Community Emergency Response Team and other agencies.

Fire departments from Abington, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brockton, Hanover, Hanson, Hingham, Holbrook, Pembroke, Norwell, Weymouth and Whitman were called to the scene.

The building has three owners listed on the town assessor's database: Twentyten LLC, Leonard J. Sacco, Trustee and Michael J. Ashe. Most of the building is owned by Twentyten LLC and phone message left for that owner was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.

It had been vacant and has had no electricity going to it for the past six years, Duffey said. It was split into multiple units and the last tenant was a motorcycle club.

"Most of the property used to be art studios at one time and prior to that woodworking shops," he said. "At the time of the fire there was mostly rubbish inside. One of the owners was storing kitchen cabinets in there."

The owners have had letters written and fines issued by the fire department for debris buildup and safety concerns over a lack of fire alarm and sprinkler systems in the past.

"This is a property that I've been working with extensively since my six years as chief. Vacant buildings within town, they're a blight on the town and we've been trying to clean them up. This is one that we've been working on at least six years," Duffey said. "(In recent years) police have been known to be chasing people out of there, mostly kids."

Several neighbors said they were glad to see the building burn down because it was an eyesore in the neighborhood.

The cause of the fire was under investigation as of Wednesday afternoon and foul play had not been ruled out. State arson investigators, along with State and Rockland police, responded to the scene.

Investigators asked residents who took “early videos” of the fire to contact authorities.

Several members of the Rockland Fire honor guard and firefighters had been scheduled to attend the funeral for fallen Watertown firefighter Joseph Toscano, a Randolph resident who collapsed and died at age 54 last week while responding to a fire.

"Yesterday (Tuesday) we did go to the wake and we had our plans set for today," said Rockland firefighter Thomas Henderson. "Duty called and unfortunately we couldn't make it. So thoughts and prayers with the Toscano family and all the Watertown brothers and sisters in this trying time."

Reporter Cody Shepard contributed to this report.