Massive fire breaks out at century-old building in Brockton

Firefighters battled a large blaze in a 100-year-old building in Brockton, Massachusetts, Saturday night.

Flames shooting out of the mixed-use building turned to thick black smoke as soon as firefighters started to spray it.

“We’ve been concerned about this building over the years,” Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said. "It had not been occupied for a while.”

Paulo Viero took video showing raging flames after calling 911 around 6 p.m. to report the blaze near his home on Legion Parkway.

“I go outside I see a fire on the back of the house so it’s very scary,” he said.

The fire chief says all four stories were full of hazards.

“Crews made an attempt to get up there, started to search the first and the second floor, as well as started to extinguish the fire and the floors above them began to collapse,” said Nardelli.

He quickly pulled his crews out of the century-old building, attacking instead from the air and the ground.

“There is definitely a concern for collapse absolutely," Nardelli said. "There are some major cracks in that exterior brick and the inner wood that’s holding that all together is very much compromised.”

As they doused the roof and the windows with water, debris started falling off the brick façade in front of the building.

“They’re flowing 800 to 1,000 gallons a minute to try to knock down any fire,” Nardelli said. "It’s easier for us to back away hit it from a distance in case it does come down – doesn’t injure anybody.”

Fire officials believe the building was empty when the fire started, and no injuries were reported.

The crack is visible in the brick façade, which is why fire officials are worried about the building collapsing, and that's why they are knocking it down Saturday night.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.