Boston is home to many universities and luckily there were no injuries in a fire at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts early Wednesday morning. The fire was caused by construction workers using propane torches in a utility trench.
The fire that forced the brief evacuation of at least three MIT fraternities on Memorial Drive in Cambridge.
Cambridge Deputy Fire Chief Paul Sheehan said the workers were using the torches to melt shrink wrap on pipes when the flames spread to wooden bracing in the trench, igniting it. He said the utility work did not involve a natural gas pipeline. Sheehan said the fire was quickly extinguished.
In a statement, MIT said that the fire broke out around 8:15 a.m. and was under control before 9 a.m. Students were allowed back into their housing before 10 a.m. Several students said they were ordered out of their rooms by the police and as they left, they saw flames shooting out of the site on Amherst street. According to the Boston Globe, a photo of the fire posted on Twitter shows thick black smoke and flames.
Police spokeswoman Alexa Manocchio said the fire started in a below-ground chamber that's under construction on Amherst Street. The fire erupted near 405 Memorial Drive, which is the home of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity There were no injuries and no one was trapped," Manocchio said. The incident has backed up traffic on the Massachusetts Avenue bridge headed into Cambridge to Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Memorial Drive is also blocked at Massachusetts Avenue.
MIT said the incident is under investigation by its own safety office and the Cambridge fire department.
Bellotti Law Group handles cases involving personal injuries involving fires arising out of negligence.
