Brockton house fires

By Jennifer Kovalich, Enterprise staff writer

BROCKTON — Maria Barrada stepped onto her Arthur Street porch Saturday afternoon, turned around and saw thick smoke pouring from the second floor of her neighbor's home across the street.

She called 911 and raced across the street to alert her neighbor, but no one was home.

“The fire department came quickly,” Barrada said. “And thank goodness.”

Her husband had been concerned because he thought their neighbor's elderly mother may have been in the house, Barrada said, however the woman, who she said was in her 90s, had moved out several weeks ago.

The fire was the second house fire in the city Saturday. The first fire was reported at 1:13 a.m. at 975 Court St.

Bob Ulich and his father, Horst Ulich, were awakened by the sound of a smoke alarm going off. They were able to find their way out of the ranch-style home amid thick, choking smoke.

The Court Street fire caused an estimated $60,000 in damage to the home, according to fire Deputy Chief Robert A. Manning.

Bob Ulich said one of his father's dogs, a miniature daschund named Moody perished in the fire. Another dog, a husky named Lady, escaped.

No injuries were reported in either fire.

Police were the first to arrive on scene of the 2:28 p.m. fire at 39 Arthur St., fire Deputy Chief Robert A. Manning said. Police forced open the door of the one-and-a-half-story home and searched the first floor.

The occupant of the home, identified by Manning as Snieguole Ramanauskas, who is the daughter of the elderly woman, was not home. Neither was her brother, Raymond Ramanauskas, who lives at the rear of the home at 37 Arthur St.

Manning said firefighters contained the fire to a second-floor bedroom but Snieguole Ramanauskas was displaced by the fire due to smoke and water damage throughout the home.

The cause of the Arthur Street fire was still under investigation Saturday, as was the cause of the fire on Court Street.

Manning said the fire at Horst Ulich's home was in the garage. That fire was also discovered by a neighbor who saw the smoke and flames and reported it.

Manning said Horst and Bob Ulich were installing baseboard heating in the home and had been soldering pipes in the garage earlier Friday night.

Manning said fire investigators had not determined whether the fire was caused by the soldering or was sparked by something else.

While the acrid smell of fire still lingered in the air, Bob Ulich helped his father go through his belongings Saturday afternoon, many of which were strewn about the lawn, including a rack of shoes and a small ceramic Christmas tree.

Ulich said he expected it would be several months before his father would be able to live in the house again.