70 students displaced after fire blazes through Boston apartment building

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Oct. 28, 2018 / 8:38 PM GMT

By Farnoush Amiri

More than 100 residents, including dozens of college students, in the Boston-area were left without a home after a massive fire blazed through their apartment building, injuring 11.

The seven-alarm fire occurred just after 3 p.m. on Saturday at a five-story apartment building in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. The building is home to 114 residents, 70 of whom are students from Northeastern University, Berklee College of Music, Emerson College and Simmons University, according to the Boston Fire Department. More than 100 firefighters responded to the scene.

Those suffering non-life threatening injuries included six students, four firefighters and one non-student.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh tweeted shortly after the fire, giving his “heartfelt” thank you to first responders who helped ensure “residents could evacuate safely.”

The incident occurred on Northeastern’s parents weekend.

“I think it’s scary for a lot of people, even parents who have kids around here, not necessarily in this building. But the Fire Department did an incredible job,” Walsh, who was on scene Saturday, told NBC Boston.

The mayor also said his administration would work with colleges to make sure students have alternative housing.

According to fire officials, all residents of the building have been displaced and students were provided housing at their schools and non-students were provided shelter by the building manager.

The City of Boston Inspection team is investigating the scene. Officials told NBC News that the cause of the fire remains unspecified but that it appears unintentional.