WALPOLE, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Walpole resident Matt Brown not only had a fire in his home on Flamingo Circle, but a water main burst when firefighters tapped the hydrant. The gushing water buckled part of this road and sent water flooding through homes all the way down the block.
Much of Brown's home is saturated and the busted water main created an indoor waterfall.
"It was pouring out of the ceiling," he said.
Fire officials say the snow-covered hydrants caused a major problem.
Timothy Bailey of the Walpole Fire Department said, "The buried hydrants was a big problem when we got in here. None of the hydrants in this particular area had been dug out."
He went on to say, "Initially when we tied into the hydrant, the water-main let go and we had no water."
The main beneath broke, the water surged under the road causing it to buckle in several places.
"We had to get out of there," Brown said. "I turned off the main that we have, that didn't help."
So he grabbed his cats, and ran.
Only FOX25 news was there was the fire department evacuated neighbors from several homes as they cut the water source and began working on the road.
Charlie Dunn, another homeowner in Walpole, said his main concern was for his neighbor whose house caught fire. He had no idea he'd have a mess of his own.
"It's a pain in the neck," he said.
But went on to say he was happy that no one was injured.
"That's what counts," he said.
The fire department was able to fight the fire using the water stored on their trucks. They say it's possible the hydrant was damaged during the storm. That is under investigation.