dorchester

Fire Breaks Out at Dorchester Building Under Construction

Washington Street near Morton Street was full of fire trucks as the Boston Fire Department aimed to stop the blaze

NBC Universal, Inc.

Smoke billowed from a fire at a building under construction in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood on Friday night.

Washington Street near Morton Street was full of fire trucks as crews aimed to stop the blaze that broke out around 6 p.m. at the four-unit complex. But firefighters were pulled from the building to keep them safe, the Boston Fire Department said.

Heavy black smoke engulfed the building, causing poor visibility for crews on the scene, firefighters said.

Crews were taking an aggressive approach from the outside to battle the blaze by cutting openings in the basement and using large hand lines in the windows.

The residence was unoccupied, and no one was inside when the fire started. No injuries were reported.

The deputy fire chief told NBC10 Boston they encountered initial problems when they arrived on scene. Fire officials believe the blaze started in the basement, and crews had some issues gaining access into that area, so they pulled all of the firefighters out and battled the fire from the outside until they were able to make a dent. At that point, they they were able to go inside and put out the fire.

"Very limited access to the basement... because of that, we held our firefighters out just to make sure, and then once we were sure it was safe, then we started sending some companies in to knock that fire down," the deputy fire chief said.

Crews were monitoring a couple hot spots later Friday night, and the deputy fire chief said some firefighters would remain on scene for a while to make sure nothing flares up again.

Neighbors in the area say the residence was under construction because it actually caught fire about a year ago, and it was being fixed up for new tenants.

Fire officials say they do believe there were workers at the home earlier in the day.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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