Early Tuesday morning, a fire broke out at the demolition site of the uncompleted Freedom Wind Tunnel at Patriot Place, near Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts. The blaze was reported by a Patriot Place security guard around 4:10 a.m., according to CBS Boston. Foxboro Fire Chief Michael Kelleher indicated that the fire, which started in the debris and insulation leftover from the demolition process, was small and contained to the roof area. A firefighter sustained a minor injury during the response but did not require hospital treatment.
Fire crews faced a challenge in fighting the fire as it was located near the seventh and eighth floors of the nearby construction site, complicating access. Despite these hurdles at the high altitude, the fire was effectively managed, and construction resumed by 9:30 a.m. The details surrounding this incident were relayed by first responders who were seen standing on a roof at Patriot Place, as 7NEWS reported.
The now-demolished Freedom Wind Tunnel was envisioned as an indoor skydiving facility, boasting a wind tunnel over 100 feet tall. It was intended to include features such as a virtual reality fly into an NFL stadium, simulating the delivery of the game ball to the 50-yard line. Neal Gouck, an assistant dean at UMass Dartmouth and former U.S. Army Airborne Ranger, was the figurehead behind the ambitious project. However, legal and financial complications led to the project's downfall before it could even open its doors to the public.
Earlier this year, officials in Foxboro approved after-hours demolition work at the site. As of now, the fire is not being treated as suspicious, and no additional information has been released.
