State House in Boston evacuated for basement fire, will remain closed on Wednesday, officials say

BOSTON — The State House was evacuated on Tuesday afternoon and will remain closed on Wednesday after an electrical fire sparked in the basement and high carbon monoxide levels were detected in the building, officials said.

The fire quickly grew to two alarms by 3 p.m. with smoke conditions in parts of the building, officials said. Boston firefighters are on scene.

“The room where the fire occurred is being vented in order to allow NSTAR to localize and shut off the feed that is believed to have caused the fire. The State House will not reopen today,” state police said in a statement just after 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

Around 2 p.m., fire broke out in the vault area of the basement, apparently from high voltage wires that were burning, Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke told reporters at the scene hours later, shortly before 5 p.m.

Burke said there is damage to electrical equipment, and smoke damage in the basement.

People who were inside the State House were safely evacuated, and crews were allowing employees to go back into the building late Tuesday afternoon to gather their belongings for the day, Burke said.

No injuries were reported.

The building’s air quality tested high for carbon monoxide, Burke said.

He added that the fire was very difficult to fight, as the toxins in the burning materials are very dangerous.

“We required a lot of fans and the fans are battery operated, to get those toxins out of there,” Burke said. “Because it was so deep in the building, we didn’t think it was leaving. We had to come up with a plan.”

The basement fire was discovered at approximately 2:12 p.m., state police said.

The fire broke out in a transformer room in the building’s sub-basement, state police said.

Investigators are looking into what caused the overheated wires.

There were smoke conditions in other parts of the building, as well, officials said.

State Police troopers assigned to the Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit and Crime Scene Services personnel responded to assist Boston Fire investigators, state police said.

“This is standard operation for all significant fires and should NOT be interpreted that any conclusion has been made as to whether the fire is suspicious,” state police said.

Both Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll were in the building at the time and were both safely evacuated, the governor’s office has confirmed.

In a statement, Superintendent of the State House Tammy Kraus said the State House will be closed on Wednesday out of an abundance of caution.

“We’re grateful for the efforts of the Boston Fire Department, Mass State Police and DCR Rangers to ensure the safety of all officials, staff and visitors and are working diligently to reopen the building as quickly and safely as possible,” Kraus said.

Bowdoin, Beacon and Hancock and Dern streets were closed to the public but have since been reopened.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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