Sunday, April 6, 2014

Slow Saturday Special: Welding Together Back Bay Fire Stories

"Welders working nearby blamed for Back Bay fire" by Maria Cramer | Globe Staff   April 04, 2014

The Back Bay blaze that killed two Boston firefighters last week was ignited by sparks from welders working on an iron handrail at the building next door to the fatal fire, authorities said Friday.

The workers, who were not identified, were apparently operating without a city permit, which usually requires a Fire Department official to inspect the work site for potential hazards and decide if a fire detail is required to be present during the welding.

As fierce winds blew that afternoon, sparks from the welding job in the rear of 296 Beacon St. flew toward the clapboards at the rear of 298 Beacon St., investigators determined. The fire began to smolder, then traveled up inside the walls, feeding on dry wood, the investigators said.

“Fire got rolling, was fed by the wind off the Charles [River], and ultimately consumed the whole building,” Acting Boston Fire Commissioner John Hasson said at a press conference Friday morning....

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RelatedA thorough investigation is crucial to firefighters’ safety

Also see:

Back Paging the Back Bay Fire
As firefighters mourned, probe focuses on heating system
For longtime chaplain, a duty that never gets easier
Firefighters more likely to die in training, crashes
Prayers, offerings pour in as two firefighters mourned
Firefighters’ mourning rituals steeped in tradition
None hurt as Cambridge office roof blaze is quelled
Boston Fire Lt. Edward Walsh mourned at wake
Kennedy found a brotherhood among firefighters
Firefighter Michael Kennedy remembered at wake
Thousands of firefighters say goodbye to Lt. Edward Walsh
In South Boston school, an outpouring for fallen firefighters
Firefighters, residents line streets of Watertown

Eerie, what with the Marathon coming up.

"Massachusetts lawmakers, moved by the deaths of the two Boston firefighters, are rushing this week to increase the state’s death benefit for the families of public safety personnel killed in the line of duty. The bill is the first of what could be a series of legislative responses to the fatal Back Bay fire." 

Not that I oppose such a thing, but this is the same state legislature that is reopening labor contracts and taking benefits away in the name of budget problems?

At Forest Hills, a sacred task to tend Fireman’s Lot
Thousands honor fallen firefighter at West Roxbury church
Firefighters from across US gather to pay respects