Two burned in electrical fire in downtown office building
(AP Photo/Metro Boston, Nathan Fried-Lipski)
A firefighter helped an injured man who escaped with tattered clothes today after an electrical flash on the 12th floor of an office high rise downtown. The injured man’s name was not released.
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
A flash electrical fire on the 12th floor of a downtown office building this afternoon sent two maintenance workers to the hospital, including one who suffered severe burns, a fire official said.
Firefighters responded to a call at 1 Beacon St. at 12:04 p.m. for what was described as fire in a high voltage box on a mechanical floor.
“What we had was an electrical flashover,” Stephen MacDonald, a fire department, spokesman. “We had two workers in the room at the time.”
The fire was quickly extinguished, and the smoke was largely confined to the 12th floor. The two people who were burned were taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where their conditions were not immediately available. They are employed by CB Richard Ellis, a building management company.
It was not immediately clear what caused the flashover, MacDonald said.
One Beacon St. is a 34-story tower that was one of Boston's first prominent skyscrapers. On a typical day some 1,500 lawyers, consultants, and other white-collar employees work in the building.
The tower was partially evacuated. Fire officials plan to allow employees to return to their offices later this afternoon, MacDonald said.
