Thursday, 4:30 PM
Former church catches fire in South Boston
(George Rizer/Globe Staff)
By Globe Staff
A two-alarm fire ripped through a former church in South Boston early this morning, forcing residents living in the 36 converted condominiums to flee into the street.
It took 60 firefighters to douse the blaze, which was difficult to extinguish because of the high ceilings and steep slate roof, according to Fire Captain Richard Parker. For more than 100 years the building was known as Saints Peter and Paul Church.
All the residents escaped without injury. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and was rushed to New England Medical Center, Parker said.
The church has been an anchor on West Broadway since it was built in 1844. The gray granite building with Gothic arches and a bell tower closed in 1995 and was converted into luxury condominiums.
Firefighter received a call at 6:32 a.m. for flames in a fourth-floor penthouse. Crews had to use chainsaws and 20-foot long poles know as "church rakes" to access the soaring ceilings and other hard-to-reach locations.
"With this being a former church, it created unique challenges," Parker said.
A preliminary investigation found that a carelessly discarded cigarette may have ignited the fire, Parker said. The blaze displaced about 30 people living in roughly half of the building's 36 units. Parker said the fire caused an estimated $750,000 in damage.
