‘It’s terrifying’: 102 residents evacuated after multi-alarm fire at Rockland nursing home

ROCKLAND, Mass. — Numerous crews responded to a Rockland nursing home on Saturday for a multi-alarm fire.

Around 4 p.m., Rockland Fire Crews were dispatched to 56 Webster Street, to Webster Park Nursing and Rehab for reports of a fire on the 3rd floor.

Once on the scene, fire crews bumped their response to a second-alarm and then eventually progressed to a three-alarm response.

Family of some of the residents were standing in the cold for hours Saturday night wondering what would happen to their loved ones. They tried to see or speak with their family to find out what was going on.

“She said everyone in there is really scared. I guess there were some fire fighters in there singing trying to keep everything light,” Chrissy Burke said.

Burke’s mother Rita moved into the facility in the past couple of weeks. She was stressed until she was able to speak with her mom on the phone.

“It’s terrifying that I can’t get to her and let her see me. It’s terrible to know your mother is that scared, and you can’t do anything. I would have lost it if I didn’t talk to her.”

Burke said her mom is moving to a facility in Needham. She’s relieved that Rita has a place to go and is safe.

“All the ceilings were falling in from the water,” Rita told Burke over the phone. “When they put the fire out on the third floor, obviously the water had to go somewhere.”

Mutual aid was provided by numerous fire crews, including Whitman, Duxbury, Hanover, and Brockton.

Boston 25 crews on the scene say that firefighters have evacuated all 102 residents out of the building and that no injuries were reported.

Rockland Fire Chief Scott Duffey said more than 50 South Shore towns came together to help evacuate residents. More than 60 ambulances lined up for several hours to bring people to other facilities.

“It’s an extremely fragile, vulnerable population,” Chief Duffey said. “They cannot care for themselves; they rely on us to move them. This could have been horrible, like what we witnessed in Fall River. This could have been devastating. I’m happy that it wasn’t.”

Crews are investigating what sparked the flames. They say the facility will be closed for some time while repairs are made.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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