Somerville Street Sweeper Bursts Into Flames Near Assembly Row

SOMERVILLE, MA — A street sweeper caught on fire in the middle of the street in Somerville's Assembly Row Sunday morning.

Somerville Firefighters Local 76 is saying a tragedy was averted thanks to the efforts of the driver of a street sweeper who saw it was on fire and moved it out of the way of buildings and people.

The union took to Facebook, writing that the driver saw smoke coming from the sweeper, noticing how close it was parked to buildings and parked cars.

They wrote that he immediately jumped into the smoking sweeper, moving it as far away as possible before jumping out of the burning vehicle.

"This move likely saved serious property damage to multiple cars and possibly The Block 6 High Rise building," the union posted.

Emergency crews responded to the scene around 9 a.m. to find the truck fully engulfed in flames.

They were able to put out the fire from the sweeper, and they say no other building or car sustained damage.

It is unclear how the fire started, but the union says no one was injured.

"This could have been a lot worse," the Local 76 tweeted.

In the post, the union added they believe Somerville should add a fully staffed Engine Company to the Assembly Row neighborhood, calling it a "city within a city," saying it would help improve safety to the area.