Three-alarm fire rips through Cambridge school still under construction

By adamg on Sat, 05/30/2015 - 2:47pm

Martin Luther King Jr. School on Putnam Street. Photo by Juan Carmona.

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Comments

Still under construction

By New Jersey on Sat, 05/30/2015 - 8:52pm.

The building isn't even open yet and was still under construction.

The roof is made of a

By anon on Sun, 05/31/2015 - 2:47am.

The roof is made of a rubberized material, Mahoney said. “That stuff burns like gasoline when it gets going,” he said, saying it was a wind-driven fire.

- Boston Glob article

Now that is a brilliant choice of materials to use on a building of public assembly, one for children no less. Brilliant.

Rubber roofing doesn't leak,

By brianjdamico on Sun, 05/31/2015 - 8:24am.

Rubber roofing doesn't leak, making it a great building material. Buildings are also made out of wood, which burns great too. When construction is finished, buildings have adequate fire protection and are up to current fire code, so the most flammable of building materials will be protected from things that can burst them into flames.

Not finished yet

By BostonDog on Sun, 05/31/2015 - 12:02pm.

The building likely has sprinklers that weren't active yet and the roof might have been awaiting another layer which would have slowed or prevented it from burning up like this. With modern construction it is going to be safer then the ~40 year old building it had replaced once finished.

The building wasn't open yet and still had months left of construction -- I ride by it every day.

The real question is what started the fire in the first place.