Overview
- A large fire tore through a commercial building on Broadway in Somerville, damaging nearby businesses including a barber shop, a restaurant and a Santander Bank branch.
- Firefighters battled the stubborn blaze for hours as parts of the roof and first floor collapsed, forcing crews to apply water from the exterior and to work on the bank’s roof.
- Two firefighters were injured by an electrical shock while cutting power to the building; both were treated at a hospital and released and are expected to be okay.
- Officials have not released a confirmed cause or a full accounting of other injuries or displaced people, and an active investigation and scene operations remain underway.
- The incident follows a separate large five-alarm Somerville fire earlier this month, highlighting recent, resource-intensive fires that required mutual aid from neighboring departments.