A small fire broke out at Boston Medical Center on the 800 block of Harrison Avenue at about 1:35 p.m. Tuesday, temporarily displacing workers and forcing some patients to move to other areas of the hospital.
Boston Fire Department responded to a report of heavy smoke at the Menino Pavilion at BMC. The fire originated at the adjacent building, 771 Albany St., where workers were using cutting tools, said BFD spokesman Steve MacDonald. Some rubber material caught fire and extended to the second floor exterior wall shared with BMC.
“In general, there was a lot of smoke. The room has no windows, so the cafeteria was loaded up with smoke and the smell,” he said. “The biggest problem was because there weren’t a lot of windows to open up, we had to use fans to move and dissipate the smoke.”
BMC took precautionary measures to move some patients out of the area, MacDonald said. No injuries were reported.
Firefighters responded quickly to extinguish the small flame and opened up the wall to reach the burning material and release the trapped smoke, MacDonald said.
With enough of the smoke cleared, the site was turned over to the hospital to clean up, and staff members were allowed to return to their work areas. BFD left the scene shortly after 3 p.m.
“There was damage done to the walls when they needed to be opened, and the window above was broken out,” he said. “The cafeteria will remain closed until it is cleaned up. A food inspector will check for damage to food in the cafeteria.”
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