Compressed air tanks explode in fire at Brookline, Massachusetts scuba diving shop
By Mike Sullivan
Click here for updates on this story
BROOKLINE, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A fire ripped through a building on Route 9 in Brookline, Massachusetts, igniting compressed air tanks at a scuba diving shop on the first floor. Brookline Fire says one employee suffered minor burn injuries, and a firefighter got a laceration while attacking the fire.
“We got everybody from the upstairs apartments out quick as well,” said Mike Williams, an employee at East Coast Divers. “We banged on the door and got everybody out from upstairs. There were only two people upstairs as far as I know.”
Brookline Fire Chief John Sullivan says there were five residents who were in town when the fire happened, with another two residents away. All of these people have now been displaced. A relative told WBZ that her sister and her girlfriend were the two who were away, but that her cat was staying inside.
“We did manage to save the cat from the second floor. He wasn’t happy, but we got him back to his owner,” said Chief Sullivan.
The chief went on to say that the fire started in the back area of the shop, but the exact cause is still under investigation. The flames caused the explosion of multiple compressed air cannisters. The air inside is only partly oxygen. Had they been full oxygen tanks the damage could have been worse.
“Oxygen is very flammable. Obviously, there is oxygen in air, but the quantity is 23%,” said Chief Sullivan.
Massachusetts State Representative Tommy Vitolo said the fire came right after the city voted for a budget override that in part helped to keep the fire department fully funded.
“We tend to only remember the importance of our emergency responders for days like today,” Vitolo said. “Fortunately, Brookline was thinking about our emergency response earlier in May when we voted to raise our taxes in an override to maintain services.”
The fire could not have come at a worse time for East Coast Divers. The shop is heading into their most lucrative time of the year.
“This is the start of our season. Our season is only like three months long, so we try to do as much as we can in the short period we have,” says Williams.
A customer for the dive shop has started an online fundraiser to help support the local business. Just hours after the fire hit, they already raised more than $2,000.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.