A large fire in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood injured 18 people Wednesday, including at least three firefighters battling the blaze at the brownstone building. One of the firefighters was seriously injured.
Fire department spokesman Steve MacDonald said a roll call was being done to make sure all firefighters were accounted for at the four-story building in a densely populated part of town.
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Major thoroughfare Storrow Drive was shut down for a time, and people were being asked to stay out of the area, The Associated Press reported.
EMS spokesman Nick Martin said 17 people were taken to hospitals, but @BOSTON_EMS later tweeted the number was up to 18. MacDonald said there were no reports of residents missing and it appeared everyone who was inside at the time had escaped.
An assistant district attorney was being sent to the scene, standard procedure in cases in which there are serious or potentially life-threatening injuries, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley. There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire.
Despite strong winds and cold temperatures, people gathered to watch firefighters work from outside the building.
"The smoke was unbelievable," said Kayla Dasilva, who lives a few blocks away and went with her roommate to see what was happening.
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