Rockland house fire overnight has tragic outcome. Chief says heavy smoke, heat played role

ROCKLAND – A woman died in an overnight house fire in Rockland, according to the town's fire chief, while her husband made it out with minor injuries.

The report of a smoke detector going off at 7 Vernon St. was made at 3:37 a.m. by the couple's daughter in Hanson. Rockland Fire Chief Scott Duffy said the woman's father had called her when the detector first went off but before he saw any smoke or fire.

That was not the case when crews first came to the house to find smoke and heavy fire in the back of the two-story, single-family home, Duffy said.

The man who escaped was in the entryway of a side door when crews arrived. He told them his wife still inside the home. Duffy said firefighters needed to make several attempts to enter the home, which by that point had zero visibility from thick smoke and fire. Heat, both from the weather outside and the fire within, also posed a challenge to firefighters, Duffy said.

"They ended up going in with a hose line and redeployed it a few times before they were able to locate the victim," Duffy said.

She was immediately taken outside so responders could begin advanced life support measures.

"She was taken to South Shore Hospital (in Weymouth), where she unfortunately succumbed to the injuries sustained in fire," Duffy said.

The fire quickly went to three alarms, drawing mutual aid companies from Abington, Whitman, Hanover, Hanson, Norwell, Hingham, Brockton, Weymouth and Randolph, according to a news release of the incident from the state's department of fire services. The Holbrook Fire Department provided station coverage. Ambulances from Pembroke and South Shore Hospital provided medical assistance,

Firefighters battled the blaze for about an hour before it was knocked down.

The fire does not appear suspicious. Local and state investigators believe that the fire started in the rear of the first floor, but the exact cause has not yet been determined.

“On behalf of the Rockland Fire Department, I want to express our heartfelt condolences to the family that lost a loved one this morning,” Duffey said in the news release. “This is a tragic time for them and our community."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Rockland woman killed in overnight house fire, husband escaped