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Boston firefighters battle 4-alarm fire inside high-rise construction site
The fire was at OneCongress, which is part of the Bulfinch Crossing development project.
Boston firefighters fought a four-alarm fire Saturday afternoon inside a high-rise building under construction downtown.
This is the second time a fire broke out at the construction site, which is part of the Bulfinch Crossing development project.
In a series of tweets, the Boston Fire Department said it was called to 1 Congress St. for a report of a fire. Once firefighters were on scene, the fire was quickly upgraded to a three-alarm fire.
The department said firefighters had to chase the fire through multiple floors of the high-rise building because the fire was traveling through the ductwork and shafts.
Just before 1 p.m., the department said, a fourth alarm was struck. It said that thousands of feet of hose line had to be used to get water to the various points throughout the building at which firefighters were trying to put out the fire.
Eventually, the department said, firefighters had to open up the walls to reach the fire and use saws to cut open the ductwork.
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By about 1:45 p.m. firefighters were still battling the fire. Two firefighters had also been taken to the hospital by that time due to heat exhaustion despite commanders rotating companies regularly.
Finally, around 6:30 p.m., firefighters began to leave the building, the department said. Some companies were left to rotate in and check the building for any hotspots they might have missed.
The fire was inside a high-rise building called OneCongress, which is part of the Bulfinch Crossing development project. When completed, the skyscraper will be used as an office tower.
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It is unclear what caused the fire or how the fire will affect construction.
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The fire is the latest in a series of issues the Bulfinch Crossing project has had.
In mid-July, seven people were arrested for breaking into the demolition site of the Government Center Garage, which is part of the project. In late June, a fire broke out on the 20th floor of OneCongress.
In the spring, the demolition of the garage caused led to the death of 51-year-old construction worker Peter Monsini on March 26, and many issues for the MBTA.
Bulfinch Crossing is a development project by HYM Investment Group.
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