Time of Day Crucial to Life Safety
A 4-ALARM FIRE BROKE OUT in an Brookline, Massachusetts, apartment building around 9 am Monday morning. The fire began in the basement of the 4-story building and shot quickly into the upper floors. The few residents that were home at that hour barely had time to escape with their lives as the fire spread rapidly through the building.
The fire was seated in the basement and spread quickly
to the 3rd and 4th floors of the 20-unit apartment.
(Boston Herald)
The Boston Globe quotes the fire chief:
Paul Ford, the fire chief in Brookline, said (firefighters) were battling the blaze in the basement when the first-floor entrance and stairwell exploded in flames. "It literally blew out the front doors,’’ he said. "They are very fortunate they did not enter on the first floor.’’ Fires often spread upward through open areas in older buildings, Ford said. Firefighters eventually battled the blaze from the roof.
Firefighters from several municipalities, including Boston and Newton, assisted in the response.
The extremely cold temperature hampered operations as the water was quickly freezing over. Four firefighters had minor injuries in the blaze that took them four hours to bring under control.
WHDH-TV filed this video report that includes some good fire footage:
The Boston Herald posted some good raw video of the fire at its peak:
There is not yet a finding on the cause of the fire. There are reports that the building has a lengthy record of prior fire inspection violations. The FD is looking into that.
* * * * * * *
Recent Comments