The deadliest day in the history of the Boston Fire Department
Nine firefighters were killed when they responded to a fire at the Hotel Vendome in Boston’s Back Bay on June 17, 1972.
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Today marks the deadliest day in the history of the Boston Fire Department. Forty-three years ago, on June 17, 1972, firefighters responded to a four-alarm blaze at the Vendome Hotel in the Back Bay. Nine firefighters died when part of the building unexpectedly collapsed after the fire.
The building had been converted into condominiums. According to The Boston Globe, the firemen had extinguished the fire and were getting ready to leave the site when a wall collapsed. A memorial for the men who died was established 25 years after the blaze, at Dartmouth Street and Comm. Ave.
Steve MacDonald, spokesman for the department, told Boston.com the cause of the fire remains undetermined to this day. The investigation into the fire has long been over, he said.
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