Sharon FD Assists at Early Morning Fire in Stoughton

An early morning three-alarm fire at a home on Park Street in Stoughton has displaced 17 people, including an infant, Stoughton Fire Chief Mark Dolloff said.

Crews from Avon, Brockton, Canton, Easton, Holbrook and Sharon all responded to the scene at 34/36 Park St., as did investigators from the Massachusetts Fire Marshal's office and the Providence Canteen Unit.

Firefighters received a call at 1:22 a.m. for a smell of smoke at that address

There were heavy fire conditions in this large 2.5 story wood frame structure, according to the Stoughton Fire Department's Facebook page. It took about three hours to knock down the fire.

While five families were displaced, there were no reports of injuries to civilians or to the crews that responded, Stoughton Fire Capt. Doug Campbell said. Campbell said all residents self-evacuated. The American Red Cross is assisting these residents, he said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Campbell said.

The structure at the corner of Park and Seaver Streets contained six apartment units, according to Kat Powers of the American Red Cross.

Campbell said the second and third floors are "completely destroyed" and there is water and smoke damage on the first floor. Neither neighboring structure on Seaver Street and Park Street was damaged.

Because of the "extensive damage," Dolloff deemed the home to be a "total loss."

The fire chief credited the work of fire crews, led by Campbell, for helping to prevent the fire from spreading. Dolloff also said crews were "very fortunate" that it was not windy.

Within minutes of responding, fire crews were told to evacuate the structure, before it was deemed safe to reenter.

"The fire just gained headway and as a safety precaution we had to bring everybody outside," Campbell said.

Randolph and Walpole crews covered Stoughton’s Fire Station 1 during the call.

Firefighters were at the scene for more than six hours, with crews still investigating as of 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

An official at the Stoughton Building Department said an inspection at the structure is supposed to be done every five years, but the owner of this building has not complied, with the last inspection having taken place in 2005. Dolloff said the alarm system is up to code, however.