'Box of matches': Fire Marshal investigating Waltham apartment fire

WALTHAM, Mass. — The State Fire Marshal is investigating what sparked a massive fire that destroyed an under-construction apartment complex in Waltham Sunday.

The fire chief says it was one of the biggest fires he's seen in his 32-year career.

“All the debris creates piles of wood masonry and a lot of burning goes on underneath that,” said Waltham Fire Chief Paul Ciccone.

There’s not much leftover after a massive 10-alarm fire swept through the construction project along Elm Street early Sunday morning.

The unfinished luxury complex, called the Edison on the Charles, was set to hold 264 units in five buildings. Now all that remains are the elevator shafts and parking garage.

Fire safety advocates say the wood used to construct it is susceptible to this type of massive fire.

"It's like a box of matches because it's all unprotected wood. It fails rapidly which means you have the collapse of the building fairly quick," said Chief David Mottor, president of Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts.

Mottor said that depending on the phase of construction, certain lighter materials enable fire to grow rapidly. A similar scene unfolded in June in Dorchester when an apartment building under construction went up in flames. 

"They go unnoticed, and it gives them a real good head start," he said.

Since there are no smoke detectors or sprinkler systems yet, there are no ways to alert firefighters or stop the flames early on.

Boston 25 News reached out to the National Association of Home Builders about these concerns. They told us in part that, "Safeguards are created at the local, state and federal levels. Structures are built to code, whether of wood, steel or concrete. The national model codes are developed with local government entities, including fire marshals."

A spokesperson for Callahan Construction, which was building the complex, told Boston 25 News on Sunday that the construction passed inspection.

“I can attest that everything was to state building code and it was just inspected last week,” said Lisa Nickerson with.

The builder said that the day before the fire started, there was no type of hot work happening in the building.  They do plan to rebuild when the investigation is over.

FULL STATEMENTS BELOW

Lisa Nickerson, Callahan Construction project spokesperson:

“Work done at the property on Saturday consisted of cosmetic updates on the nearly completed Phase I portion of the project, located near Cooper Street, including items such as caulking, painting and tile installation. There was no hot work - operations that produce a flame, heat or sparks – done on this day and the site was secured upon completion of the workday, with all workers off the site at approximately 6 p.m.”

Robert Solomon, PE, Fire Protection Engineer- NFPA

The model building codes developed in the US form the basis for the state codes (including Massachusetts) and allow a range of construction materials, including wood, to be used. These code provisions also establish maximum building heights and total building areas that are dependent on the materials being used whether it is wood, concrete, steel or a combination thereof.  NFPA has no first-hand knowledge of the specific type of wood construction used in the Waltham project.  Residential apartment construction using wood tends to be allowed in the four to five story range (maximum) depending on factors such as the type of automatic fire sprinkler system installed, use of noncombustible materials on exterior walls, and a one hour fire resistance rating between floors.

Regardless of the materials being used, a building under construction is extraordinarily vulnerable to a fire.  On-site storage of combustible building materials; storage and use of combustible or flammable liquids being used as part of the construction process; and welding, cutting, grinding and other hot work operations, can create the perfect storm of fuel and ignition sources.  Once ignition occurs

Cox Media Group