Biz facade falls, injuring 2 in Allston
One in critical condition
A stone and brick section of facade above an Allston restaurant collapsed yesterday afternoon, injuring two, one critically.
The Boston Fire Department responded to the report of the collapse on Harvard Avenue, at the location of the Common Ground Bar and Grill.
Deputy fire Chief Steve McNeil said his department helped six people evacuate out the rear of the building following the collapse.
It was unclear whether the two victims had been walking in front of the building or if they were struck by rubble from the collapse. McNeil said it was “amazing” that more injuries didn’t occur.
Both of the victims were transported by Boston EMS. Their identities were not released yesterday.
“When these things fall, typically they’ll start to fall, and it’s like a domino effect,” McNeil said. “We have a significant danger of perhaps a secondary collapse because of the balance of that wall. … The reality is, if this happened probably a few hours from now, we would be discussing a far different picture than we’re describing right now.”
The sign of the restaurant was on the ground in front of the restaurant in the middle of the rubble.
McNeil said no business will be taking place in the affected area. He expects the ensuing investigation to “take a while.”
Inspectional Services Department officials were on scene investigating yesterday.
McNeil said inspectors and engineers were speaking with nearby businesses, seeking surveillance footage of the collapse. Officials from Eversource and National Grid also responded. Fire officials estimated the damages of the collapse about $500,000.
“Right now, the plan is to get folks in to evaluate the situation,” McNeil said. “We’ll have companies here to oversee this and just to make sure that everything is safe in the interim. All the utilities to the affected occupancies have been shut down. This is something that is going to take some time.”