New Bedford Building Suffers Total Collapse in Early-Morning Fire

NEW BEDFORD (1420 WBSM) — New Bedford firefighters battled another major blaze early Saturday, the latest in a string of fires across the city.

According to a New Bedford Fire Department Facebook post, a passerby flagged down a New Bedford police officer shortly after 4 a.m. this morning to report a structure fire on South Second Street.

At the time, fire crews were already battling a structure fire on Acushnet Avenue, after a fire they had put down Friday afternoon flared up again just after 4 a.m. this morning.

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Crews then reported to 327 South Second Street to begin fighting that fire, arriving to find the three-story wood frame structure fully ablaze.

Both a one-story commercial building on one side and an unoccupied three-story wood frame building on another side were exposed to the fire, but sustained minimal damage with no actual fire extension thanks to firefighters’ efforts.

At 5 a.m. a general alarm was called to request all available off-duty personnel report to assist in battling the two fires.

At South Second Street, the building eventually suffered a complete collapse. The fire department said it had been under renovation at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

One firefighter was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital for evaluation but was expected to be released today.