South Station project shut down after fire
Construction on tower paused for safety audit
The 51-story South Station Tower project has been shut down again — this time for a “comprehensive jobsite safety audit” after a small fire broke out Tuesday on the ninth floor of the building, officials said.
Suffolk Construction, the company leading the project, said in a statement that it had “unilaterally announced a safety standdown for all workers on the South Station project and has voluntarily shut down the jobsite for a comprehensive jobsite safety audit.”
“We will be redoubling safety protocols and reviewing the safety plans and procedures of every subcontractor on the jobsite,” the company said.
The company said the fire, which broke out around 8:45 a.m. and sent plumes of dark smoke into the air, was “caused by union iron workers at J.F. Stearns, who were welding tube steel.”
“Fire watchers were on the jobsite and responded to the fire, and the fire was immediately extinguished,” the company said. “No one was injured and safety protocols worked as intended.”
James F. Stearns Co., of Pembroke, declined to comment.
There were no reported injuries. Summer Street heading into the Seaport District was shut down for about an hour.
It marked the second time the project had been shut down in less than a month.
On March 20, a large steel beam fell from an upper floor of the construction site, shattering multiple windows before it became lodged in the ninth floor, officials said. The ninth floor acts as the roof for the commuter rail platform, officials said.
Work at the site was put on hold for several days while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the cause of the accident.
The March inspection is ongoing, according to Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesperson for the federal agency.
The MBTA said subway and commuter rail service at South Station was not disrupted. The MBTA’s safety department is performing its “own evaluation to determine if any corrective action is necessary,” the agency said.
Suffolk said it will require union leaders and subcontractors to walk the site with a company representative and will determine when work can resume after the audit is completed.
“Suffolk leadership has also called a mandatory meeting with union, subcontractor, and Suffolk leadership scheduled for this afternoon at Suffolk Headquarters to reinforce the importance of safety,” the company said.
Hines, a Texas-based developer behind the South Station project, could not be reached for comment.
A construction worker at the site, who identified himself only as Mike, said he was on the 21st floor when he saw black smoke rising past the window. He said he wasn’t worried about the safety at the site but that the sight of smoke wasn’t pleasant.
”When you’re in a high rise, you want to get out,” he said.