Allston blaze claims 1 BU student

A three-alarm fire at 87 Linden St. in Allston Sunday morning killed a Boston University student and injured several other people, officials said.

The student was identified as College of Arts and Sciences senior Binland Lee.

“Once again we are grieving the loss of a member of our student community,” BU President Robert Brown said in an email to students. “While we continue to work to provide support and care to those most in need, each of us should hold close all our friends and colleagues, as we all have lost part of our community in the tragedies of the Marathon bombing and this morning’s fire.”

A town hall meeting will be held in Metcalf Hall regarding recent tragedies Monday night at 7 p.m.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the blaze also injured 15 people, nine of which were residents and six of which were firefighters.

Additionally, two of the nine injured were identified as BU students, said BU spokesman Colin Riley. They were treated at local hospitals and were released late Sunday afternoon, he said.

The injured residents were hospitalized to be treated for including burns, cuts, sprains and exhaustion, MacDonald said. At least six of the 18 residents have been identified as BU students.

At least a dozen BU students have died within the past year, most recently Lingzi Lu, a first-year Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombings April 15.

“Our thoughts and prayers go to the family and friends of the individual who has died and all the victims of the fire,” Brown wrote. “We are working to marshal counseling and support resources for all those touched by the fire while continuing to meet the needs of others who have been affected by the Marathon bombings.”

Firefighters extinguished the fire at about 9:30 a.m., MacDonald said. At least one person jumped from the roof and three people were rescued with ladders.

Total damage to the residence is estimated to be $600,000, according to MacDonald. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Riley said BU officials are offering assistance, counseling and accommodations to eight students who have been displaced by the fire.

A number of Linden Street residents said the fire was unnerving, considering a similar blaze that destroyed a house at 84 Linden St. in January 2012. The two-alarm 2012 fire caused roughly $500,000 worth of damage and sent seven BU students to the hospital.

Spencer Verney, a Linden Street resident, said the fire and sirens woke him up around 7 a.m.

“I woke up to my roommate basically yelling at me to come into his room,” Verney said. “We live on the downwind side of the first so the smoke was blowing right over the top of our building to our apartment.”

JP Park, another Linden Street resident, said a second fire in the area is disturbing because it appears to be setting a trend.

“There was a fire two houses away from our house [at 84 Linden St.] as well and the whole thing burnt down,” Park, a withdrawn student from UMass Lowell, said. “It is becoming an annual thing. It’s kind of terrifying to live here.”

Park said he believed the 87 Linden St. property housed college students, based on past behavior he has witnessed, including large, loud parties.

Versey said this fire is troubling because it occurred in a student-populated area.

“There are a lot of students that live around here,” Versey said. “It is not what parents want to see.”

Michelle Jay contributed to the reporting of this article.