City, News

Boiler room in off-campus apartment building catches fire

Brookline Fire Department responded to a boiler room fire at a Brookline apartment building early this morning, officials said.

Three fire engines were dispatched at 6:29 a.m. to 54 Egmont St., where a fire had broken out in the basement, Chief of Operations Mike O’Reilly said.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, he said, because the department’s report is not complete. There were no injuries.

‘The fire would be investigated by the fire prevention division,’ O’Reilly said. The report had not been completed. He said he his records showed the BFD dispatched their mechanic, fire prevention, and safety officials in addition to the scene in addition to the three trucks.

Boiler room fires are usually caused by a fuel or an electrical problem, he said.

‘You need a spark to have the fuel to catch on fire, which it does in the normal process of a boiler in use,’ he said. ‘You could have a problem with the injector which can put too much fire into the boiler chamber.’

The Boston University Police Department had no record of responding to the fire.

While he did not have information on the specific fire in question, Boston Police Department spokesman Eddy Crispin said police response to such situations is typical.

‘We secure the scene if there’s anybody in danger,’ he said. The rest, he said, is the fire department’s jurisdiction.

A BU student who lives in the building’ said she and her fellow residents were evacuated for about two hours. The student said she wished to remain anonymous for privacy reasons.

While no one was injured, there was damage to the building, she said.

‘We have to have a cleaning crew come in and clean everything in the apartment building and the boiler room is under repair,’ she said.

Some utilities have also been affected, she said.

‘I’m half living there,’ she said. ‘We don’t have certain amenities right now, like hot water or gas to cook or anything.’

O’Reilly did not comment as to when the building, located two blocks from Commonwealth Ave. off of St. Paul St., will be fully functional again.

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