Six fire trucks and two ambulances responded to a fire on a 13th floor balcony at Babcock Towers near the West Campus Complex on Wednesday, but the flames were extinguished before emergency personnel arrived.
‘It was a fire of contents that appeared to be paperback books in a plastic tote bag on the outside balcony,’ Engine 41 firefighter Richard Sterling said. ‘It did not set off the internal alarm system on the 13th floor.’
The cause of the fire was determined to be ‘careless disposal of a cigarette,’ BFD District 11 Chief Joe McMahon said.’
By the time authorities arrived on the scene, there was little evidence of a fire, they said.
‘Engine 37 used thermal imaging on the D side of the building, the right side if you’re facing it,’ McMahon said. ‘They discovered and determined the source. The fire had been contained to the balcony outside’
Boston University College of Communication junior Ariel Fund said she had been standing in the parking lot of the Star Market at 1065 Commonwealth Ave., when a couple approached her to ask for the address of Babcock Towers.
The couple pointed to a visible fire in one of the balconies of the building, she said. They then handed her the phone and she reported the fire.
‘As I was on the phone, the flames were retreating back into the apartment as if someone was putting them out or something,’ Fund said. ‘The apartment was bright orange.’
After leaving the scene with permission from the fire department, Fund received a call back, asking her to return to help them determine the source of the fire.
‘We were looking up, and they were shining flashlights, and they found a balcony that was all black from the smoke,’ Fund said. ‘At first, I definitely thought they thought I was making it all up. I’m glad they found something.’
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