Local News
An estimated 200 firefighters responded to the 103-year-old building in Roxbury Monday, the Boston Fire Department said.
The Boston Fire Department responded to a large fire Monday morning at the “landmark” Edison Building along Warren Street in Roxbury, the department announced on social media.
An estimated 200 firefighters took part in the hourslong effort to control the blaze, according to the Salvation Army, which assisted in the response.
The 103-year-old Edison Building, which is wedged between Warren, Harrison, and Dudley streets, is home to several businesses, including a sandwich shop and a barbershop.
Sharon Galloway, a public information officer for the Boston Fire Department, said the fire began around 7:30 a.m.
“We should be very grateful that it was so early in the morning because this would be a nightmare if it was after school or any later when people were actually in the building,” Galloway said at the scene in an interview recorded by Boston 25 News.
Fire crews surrounded the two-story building in an hourslong response to the blaze, and, at one point, the department pulled water from two blocks away, according to BFD social media updates.
The fire department asked people to avoid the Dudley area of Roxbury, as the entire area was surrounded by engines and thousands of feet of feeder hoses blocking side streets.
The department knocked down the fire to the basement of the building around noon, with black smoke still escaping the building. Photos posted online by the fire department show smoke filling the Nubian Square area.
Galloway told reporters there was “significant” concern that the building could collapse due to the amount of water and a large billboard on the roof.
Several firefighters sustained minor injuries, Galloway said.
The Salvation Army provided lunch to firefighters and other safety personnel on site, according to a social media post.
Roxbury Main Streets, a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing the area, wrote in an online statement that the “devastating” fire had a “significant impact” on the heart of Nubian Square.
“These businesses are more than storefronts, they are part of the heart, history, and economic strength of our community,” the organization wrote.
Boston City Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Henry Santana wrote in a joint statement that their “hearts go out” to everyone impacted by the blaze.
“We are deeply grateful to our dedicated first responders for their heroic efforts on scene and their continued work to keep our community safe,” the councilors said.
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