Boston

Fire in Boston High-Rise Sends Smoke Over City

The fire took place on the 20th floor of the 23-story building, still under construction, according to Boston fire officials

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A fire was burning at a skyscraper in down Boston Friday morning.

Smoke poured from a building at 1 Congress Street in Government Center.

The fire took place on the 20th floor of the 23-story building, still under construction, according to Boston fire officials. It was a significant fire that affected the 300 or 400 workers inside at the time.

All were accounted for, and while two were evaluated by EMTs, there were no serious injuries, according to the Boston Fire Department.

The firefight affected traffic in the area, including ramps to an interstate highway.

State police said the fire prompted the closure of the Government Center ramps of Interstate 93. They were later reopened.

Smoke pours from blown-out windows in a Boston high-rise Friday, June 24, 2022.
NBC Boston
Smoke pours from blown-out windows in a Boston high-rise Friday, June 24, 2022.

Construction began on One Congress, which developers say will have 1 million square feet of office space, in 2019 and was expected to finish by 2023. The building topped off at 600 feet in July.

Among the buildings developers is HYM Investment Group, which on Thursday advised the MBTA that at least one of a nearby garage's support columns was "severely deteriorated" because of water damage, creating an unsafe environment for the Green and Orange Line tunnels the column passes through. That's prompted an indefinite service change on the two lines.

The MBTA says that structural issues at Government Center is forcing shuttle buses to replace subways on the Orange Line between North Station and Back Bay, as well as the Green Line from Government Center and Lechmere.

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