‘We’re heartbroken’: Raging blaze tears through historic restaurant under construction in Boston

BOSTON — A historic Boston restaurant that had been undergoing renovations went up in flames late Monday night, prompting a massive emergency response.

The four-alarm blaze tore through the former Jacob Wirth Restaurant on Stuart Street, according to officials and video from the scene.

Crews responding to the decades-old German beer hall found heavy fire on all three floors of the buildings, Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke said.

A video shared by a guest at the Moxy Hotel showed bright orange flames and black smoke shooting from the roof of the building.

“The whole top floor was on fire and they were putting it out but they couldn’t,” Khaled Younes told Boston 25. “Nobody was approaching the building really they were trying to spray it from afar and they had water going from the bottom to the top. It was insane.”

Firefighters were forced to retreat out of the building, where they used an adjacent parking garage to attack the raging flames, filling windows with water. They worked through the night chasing hot spots.

“This is really unfortunate. I really hope they can rebuild it,” Younes added.

Burke noted that people in a neighboring 30-floor building were evacuated due to smoke but then allowed back inside.

There were no reported injuries in the fire but 31-37 Stuart Street suffered an estimated $3 million in damage.

“We were very fortunate that there were no people inside the one that was under construction but being under construction there were holes in the floors we had to get the firefighters out there was too much of a danger to have them in there,” Burke said.

Jacob Wirth was built in 1844 and declared a historic landmark in 1975, The Boston Globe reported. It was open for nearly 150 years before another fire forced the restaurant to close in 2018.

The restaurant had been vacant and undergoing renovations under new ownership.

In a statement, Jamison LaGuardia of Jacob Wirth Realty Trust said, “We’re heartbroken over the fire that occurred late last evening. We’ve been working diligently to restore this landmark building, first opened in 1868, to continue the great legacy of Jacob Wirth for future generations. We are deeply thankful to the Boston Fire Department for its fast response, and beyond grateful no one was injured.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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

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