Smoke billows from Boston high-rise building

BOSTON, Mass. — Authorities say a high rise construction building in Downtown Boston caught fire Friday morning, sending smoke billowing into the air.

At about 10:30 a.m., firefighters responded to 1 Congress Street for a report of a fire on the 20th floor, according to Deputy Chief James Greene.

Viewer video shows plumes of smoke pouring out of the side of the building where the fire started.

Smoke billows from Boston high rise building. Video courtesy: Alex Wolff

Deputy Chief Greene says crews had to break a bunch of windows in order to get the smoke out of the building. He said over one hundred firefighters responded to the scene and searched all 43 floors for any potential workers who were caught above the fire.

According to fire officials, there were between 300 and 400 construction workers at the construction site at the time of the fire. Two people were evaluated on scene by EMS and one person was transported with a minor illness.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the arson squad.

Deputy Chief Greene says having access to the construction elevator and working sprinkler systems both proved helpful in fighting the flames.

Companies will be overhauling the scene for quite a while, according to the fire department, so the public should avoid the area.

Boston EMS on scene at 1 Congress St with a 4 alarm fire. High rise building under construction. Everyone evacuated. 2 patients seen. 1 transport with minor illness pic.twitter.com/KCej6m7OCB
— Boston EMS (@BOSTON_EMS) June 24, 2022