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BU student killed, 15 others injured in Allston fire

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) - A Boston University student was killed and 15 others were injured Sunday in a house fire in the city's Allston neighborhood.

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald said the fire at the 2-1/2- story wood frame house was reported at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday.

The student who died in the fire has been identified as Binland Lee, of Brooklyn, N.Y. School officials said she was a senior studying marine biology and was scheduled to graduate in September.

Biology professor John Finnerty, who took a group of students including Lee for study in Belize, praised "her intelligence, her determination, her vitality and her infectious smile."

Officials say 19 people lived at 87 Linden St., most in the top floor and attic. One resident was seen jumping from the roof to safety.

Fifteen people sustained minor injuries, including two other BU students and six firefighters.

Officials say by the time they realized Lee was missing, it was too late to go in and get her.

According to Bryan Glascock, the Boston Commissioner of Inspection Services, it is illegal for more than four unrelated undergraduate students to live in the same unit.

FOX 25's Heather Hegedus obtained information regarding the home's previous violations, including a violation for failing to obtain a permit to make the basement into a living space with bedrooms.

FOX 25 also learned the home was last inspected in 1992; however, the city code requires that homes are inspected every time there's a change of tenants.

"Given the large number of people who were in here and given that we know some of them were undergrad students, we're very concerned about that. We're also concerned about whether or not some of the spaces in the building were being appropriately used – whether it was appropriate to have bedrooms in the basement and whether or not everyone had adequate means of escape," Glascock said.

The cause of the fire hasn't been determined.

Officials said the house sustained $600,000 worth of damage. The building inspector will decide whether or not the home should be demolished.

University President Robert A. Brown said BU is providing housing and other support to students who have been displaced, as well as counseling on campus.

Another BU student, 23-year-old Lu Lingzi, was one of three people killed in the Boston Marathon bombings.

The Boston Police Homicide Unit and members of the Boston Fire Department's Arson Investigation Unit continue to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.