Construction Accidents
Suffolk Pauses $1.5B Boston Tower Project for Safety Audit After Fire
No one was injured when a small fire broke out at the South Station Tower jobsite in Boston April 9.
Photo courtesy of Boston Fire Dept.
The team building the $1.5-billion, 51-story South Station Tower in Boston voluntarily shut down the jobsite April 9 for a safety stand down and audit after a small fire broke out, according to contractor Suffolk Construction. No one was injured.
The incident comes after construction on the tower was also halted on March 21 after a steel beam fell and landed above the commuter rail station.
The April 9 fire occurred on a deck on the ninth floor, according to the Boston Fire Dept. The fire started as union ironworkers with J.F. Stearns Co. Inc. were welding tube steel, a spokesperson for Suffolk said in a written statement. Fire watchers were at the jobsite and responded to quickly extinguish the fire.
During the stand down and safety audit, they said Suffolk is reviewing safety protocols and all subcontractors’ safety plans. The contractor did not say how soon work would resume, just that it would remain paused until the audit is complete.
“Safety remains Suffolk's number one priority,” the spokesperson wrote.
As ENR previously reported, the 1 million-sq-ft mixed-use steel South Station Tower is being built on a podium sitting over a rail yard. The project’s scope also includes a 100,000-sq-ft expansion of an adjacent transit station, which was built before the tower itself.
Work started in 2020 and is scheduled to complete next year.
