A fierce late-morning fire tore through East Coast Divers, the longtime dive shop on Boylston Street in Brookline, on Thursday, injuring an employee and a firefighter and forcing residents in the apartments above to flee their homes. Explosions inside the business rattled the neighborhood as fire crews battled heavy flames that took hours to knock down. Traffic along Route 9 ground to a halt while mutual-aid companies swarmed the scene and tried to keep the blaze from spreading.
The Brookline Fire Department struck a three-alarm response and called in help from Cambridge, Boston and Somerville. Chief John Sullivan told WCVB that explosions from compressed-air cylinders inside the dive shop turned an already dangerous fire into a particularly tricky operation. Crews focused on the basement and first floor, where smoke and flames were most intense, while other teams worked to shield the apartments stacked above the shop.
Fire response and road closures
Units were dispatched late Thursday morning. Patch reported that firefighters arrived around 10:20 a.m., while other accounts placed the initial calls in the 10:30 to 10:45 a.m. window. The Boston Globe reported that Route 9/Boylston Street was shut down between Washington and Cypress streets as the response stretched on, creating significant backups along the busy westbound corridor. Police urged drivers to steer clear while firefighters tried to get the upper hand on the flames.
Injuries, damage and displacement
An employee suffered minor injuries and a firefighter sustained a laceration, according to the department, which detailed the injuries to WCVB. Residents in the second- and third-floor apartments above the shop were displaced after smoke and fire damaged their units, and officials were still working to gauge how extensive that damage is.
Shop background and next steps
East Coast Divers, located at 213 Boylston Street, offers retail sales, instruction and equipment rentals, according to the company’s website. Fire and building investigators are continuing to probe the cause of the blaze and to determine when, if at all, residents will be able to return to their homes.
