Fire at Somerville veterans housing leaves 2 injured, residents displaced

A fire triggered by a burning electric skateboard displaced residents and injured two people at the Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center in Somerville on Thursday night, fire officials said. 

Authorities responded to the incident around 9:35 p.m. at 2 North St., the Somerville Fire Department said on Facebook. 

Firefighters located the source of the fire — a burning lithium-ion battery on a skateboard — in a basement apartment, the fire department said. 

One building occupant and one firefighter sustained minor injuries, fire officials said. The facility as a whole suffered smoke damage, and the basement was damaged by fire, smoke, and water.

Following the blaze, gas service to the building was shut off, and displaced residents were relocated to nearby hotels, the fire department said. Officials did not clarify the exact number of residents who were forced to leave. 

Jacob Shaps, who lives in an apartment above the veterans center, said about 30 residents were taken to a Holiday Inn in Somerville. He and other people living upstairs were not offered that accommodation, he said.

“The idea of sleeping [was] terrifying with the smoke still lingering for the next day,” Shaps said.

The Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night. 

The center has 22 transitional housing units and seven permanent housing units for veterans requiring supportive services, according to the city of Somerville.