Cause Of 3-Alarm Fire In Cleveland Circle Under Investigation

BROOKLINE, MA — There was a candle, a couch and a grill that may have factored into the three-alarm fire that tore up the back of a brownstone on Strathmore Road in Brookline, but there's also conflicting accounts, according to Brookline Fire Chief John Sullivan.

"There were all of those things in the area, but with the significant damage done, it's hard to place exactly how it began and with the conflicting stories - at this point the exact cause is under investigation," he told Patch Wednesday.

Two Brookline firefighters and one Boston firefighter were sent to hospitals with minor injuries and released, and multiple people were left homeless after a fire on Strathmore Road Monday evening. Flames were showing from the back porches of the three-story brick building when crews first arrived around 7:15 p.m., according to the chief.

The fire originated on the first floor rear porch and migrated quickly up through all three wooden porches and into the building on the first, second and third floors. But, according to the fire chief, crews from Brookline, Newton, Cambridge and Boston were able to keep the fire from spreading.

"The fire itself was tricky that in that access to those long brownstone condo buildings is limited, especially in the rear and the alleyways," said Sullivan.

The wires and tight access didn't help either, he said.

"The firefighters from Brookline with the assistance of Newton, Cambridge and Boston did a great job of holding it to superficial damage to the back rooms and a couple of floors, " said Sullivan, who added, that because the building didn't suffer any structural damage, the owner should be able to rebuild and get residents back in in a relatively short period of time.

There was a lot of water damage and damage to the windows because firefighters knocked out a number of them for ventilation, he said.

"As always, the Brookline Fire Department did an outstanding job of keeping this to a small area of the building and keeping the rest of it blocked from having significant damage," said Sullivan. "And we're really always grateful to our partners in Boston, Cambridge and Newton for the assistance they give us as well. And we hope that the Boston firefighter who was injured has a speedy recovery as well."

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Firefighters Hurt In Cleveland Circle Fire