Local Italian restaurant hit by Harvard Square fire
Local firefighters responded quickly to the two-alarm blaze, which sent black smoke billowing above Cambridge.
Local firefighters worked quickly to respond to a two-alarm fire Tuesday morning in Harvard Square. Cambridge fire officials said the blaze began in the back of Toscano, the Italian restaurant that occupies the first floor of the three-floor brick building on the corner of Story and Brattle streets.
Crews encountered heavy smoke upon arriving at the restaurant shortly before 10:30 a.m. According to the Cambridge Fire Department, the fire had melted gas meters, fueling the blaze up the side of the building to the roof and through the ductwork of the first-floor restaurant.
“Fire companies made an aggressive attack and quickly contained and knocked down the fire,” the department tweeted Tuesday morning. “All occupants had been quickly evacuated.”
No injuries were reported.
Fire went to 2 alarms with a call for an additional engine & truck company for relief.
There was minor damage to the building at 5 Story St.
Fire companies made an aggressive attack and quickly contained and knocked down the fire. All occupants had been quickly evacuated. https://t.co/2jWuA6bp7x— Cambridge Fire Dept. (@CambridgeMAFire) July 17, 2018
Calls to the Toscano location in Harvard Square, which opened in 2013, went unanswered Tuesday morning. However, a manager at Toscano’s Beacon Hill location said their Cambridge counterpart would be closed all day as a result of the fire and reservations there were being redirected to the Boston eatery. It’s unclear when the Harvard Square restaurant will reopen.
Large plumes of black smoke could be seen blocks away billowing from the building Tuesday morning.
https://twitter.com/jessagers/status/1019224905383120896
Looks like a serious fire at corner of Brattle and Story streets in #CambMA right now. pic.twitter.com/RsDIOc9KQv
— Colin Durrant (@bikinginorange) July 17, 2018
@CambMA @universalhub intense fire in Harvard square at brattle and story sts. Looks like Toscano restaurant? pic.twitter.com/m2Znp8VWUr
— Maggie Gates (@m_mgates) July 17, 2018
Watch @sci_vision‘s broadcast: Cambridge Harvard Square Toscano fire https://t.co/kk3vQsVdFD
— Fire_Capn202 (@Fire_Capn202) July 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/jandev/status/1019229658938773504
By 10:45 a.m., fire officials said the main fire had been knocked down and that crews were checking to make sure the fire hadn’t spread to other buildings. An adjacent building at 5 Story St. sustained “minor damage,” they said.
