UPDATE: The fire stopped burning by 2:27 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 28.
By Patrick Burgard, managing editor
Police are evacuating residents of several buildings in the vicinity of Hemenway Street and Symphony Road as a seven-alarm fire, which broke out on the 100 block of Hemenway Street this afternoon, continues to blaze.
The Boston Fire Department, or BFD, responded to the fire at roughly 3:17 p.m., according to Boston 25 News. Soon after, the Northeastern University Police Department established a perimeter around the buildings, telling the public to steer clear of the area as the Boston Fire Department works to douse the flames.
In an NU Alert sent at 3:40 p.m., NUPD sent the following message to the Northeastern community:
“NU ALERT: Active fire at 108 Hemenway Street. Please avoid the area. Listen to direction of emergency personnel. Update to follow.”
At 4:24 p.m., NUPD sent another NU Alert asking those affected by the fire and in need of housing to gather in the Marino Center atrium.
According to the BFD scanner, the roof of the five-story apartment building caved in at approximately 5:08 p.m.
In a press briefing, BFD Commissioner Joseph Finn and Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced that so far, approximately eight area residents and one firefighter have sustained non-life-threatening injuries since the fire started.
The scanner revealed that three of these individuals include a 37-year-old male, a 39-year-old female and a 3-year-old.
The fire reportedly broke out at 104 Hemenway St. before spreading to 108 Hemenway St., which is situated diagonally from Northeastern’s Kennedy Hall. At 4:47 p.m., NUPD issued an NU Alert announcing it was preparing to evacuate Kennedy Hall. At 6:39 p.m., NUPD announced that Kennedy Hall is once again open to residents.
As of roughly 4:20 p.m., there were five ladders and three fire engines on scene, along with numerous officers from NUPD and the Boston Police Department.
This is a developing story. We will update this page as more information becomes available. If you or anyone you know is affected by the fire, please email [email protected].
Nick Hirano, Morgan Lloyd and Dylan Shen contributed to this report.
