North End building under construction partially collapses; nearby homes evacuated
BOSTON - A vacant building being renovated in Boston's North End partially collapsed on Thursday morning. There were no injuries but as many as 20 people in surrounding homes had to be evacuated.
Boston Deputy Fire Chief James Greene said the roof of the five-story brick building at 43 Fleet St. collapsed and "took a few floors with it."
The department used its drone to get a birds-eye view of the situation - a safer option for firefighters.
"We can see that most of the roof is collapsed in," Greene said.
Firefighters used their drone to see the damage and evacuated three surrounding buildings housing between 12 and 20 people. An MBTA bus was brought in to keep people warm.
Greene said it's possible the snow could have contributed to the collapse.
"Increased weight on the roof on a building that hasn't been inhabited in some time. . . it's a dangerous situation," he said. However, he added, the fact that the building was uninhabited was likely a bigger problem. "A lived-in building, when you see problems, you deal with problems. A building that's not lived in, problems can get worse, which is likely the situation here, but it's too early to tell."
Neighbor Mike O'Brien said he heard a "boom" but initially didn't think anything was wrong.
"I thought they were unloading a big truck. . . you hear that all the time in the North End," he said.
Charlotte Simmons (evacuated)
"It was more of a rumble; it kind of felt like a small earthquake almost," said Charlotte Simmons, who was evacuated from one of the adjacent buildings.
"We were like, 'We gotta go, grab the chargers and get a backpack together.' I have two goldfish up there, so I'm hoping to get back to them," said Simmons's roommate Rachel Bieling.
Building inspectors will stay on the scene to make sure it's safe and monitor a bearing wall for any further collapse. According to Greene, it's been about two years since any work has been done on the building.
