2-Alarm Fire On Main Street In Waltham Disrupts Traffic For Hours

WALTHAM, MA - Crews worked several hours Tuesday afternoon to put out a fire in the basement of the building across from City Hall.

"They're trying to get in there and take up the floors,"the fire chief told Patch at 3 p.m. "The fire's in there. It's still smoldering."

Waltham Fire Chief Tom McInnis said everyone made it out of the building and no one was injured.

At mid-afternoon, City Hall staffers watched and took photos from the steps of the building as crews walked in and out of the Boston Driver's Ed storefront and the Queen Nail Salon and Spa, which opened recently.

"We were working and heard the fire trucks and then smelled the smoke and realized it was our building," said Stephan Bucchieri, who works in an animation studio on the third floor of the building.

It was about 1:30 p.m. when he and his team of about 20 ran out of the building, Bucchieri said. He didn't recall an alarm going off.

Also fleeing the building was Christine Gilligan, owner of the barber shop.

"A customer came in and said, 'Why does it smell like smoke in here?'" she told Patch.

Gilligan, watching as firefighters ripped up the floors in the shop that has been in her family for generations, said she looked down and saw smoke coming through the floor under her station. She and the customer ran out, leaving a wooden model boat, but was able to retrieve it about an hour later. She told officials she was worried about losing it, but also worried it would fall from its perch and hurt one of the firefighters.

Now, she said, the future of the business is in question. She plans to talk to insurance adjusters, but hopes to reopen.

"It's my livelihood," she said. "I have two kids in college, what else can I do?"

Main Street was closed from Church to Moody from around 1:45 p.m. through 4 p.m. watch for delays.

Lt. Scott Perry, spokesperson for the department, said the call for the fire came in around 1:45 p.m.
When firefighters got there they saw heavy smoke coming from the building.

Perry said the tight back alley area made it a difficult fire to fight, but said crews were working hard.

Officials turned off the electricity and forced water through the building to help fight the fire.
Officials are looking into just what may have caused the fire and suspect it was an electrical issue.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).