BROOKLINE, Mass. — A fire tore through a three-story building in Brookline Thursday, displacing several tenants who lived there and causing significant damage to a business.
According to the owner of East Coast Divers, Nick Fazah, the fire broke out around 10 a.m. Inside his shop on the first floor.
“It took really quickly, we’re not quite sure what caused the fire right now,” Fazah said.
Fazah said he quickly worked to make sure everyone got out of the building.
The fire closed down Route 9 from Washington Street to Cypress Street in both directions, and traffic was diverted, according to Brookline police.
“I’m just really glad that everybody got out ok,” Fazah said.
Fazah estimates the damaged equipment costs more than $400,000.
“It’s going to be a labor of love, there’s not a lot of money in diving even though diving is super expensive,” Fazah said.
Fazah said he’s already heard from other local diving shops as well as Boston University, all offering to help however they can.
“‘Cause it’s not us versus them, it’s us just wanting to dive and try to support each other as best we can,” Fazah said.
Fazah said he’s grateful for that support and now focused on rebuilding his business from the ground up, like when he first took over ownership in 2012.
“We’ve pulled ourselves up from our bootstraps before, we’ll do it again,” Fazah said.
As they work to figure out what’s next, Fazah said they’ll still be able to offer scuba diving lessons to help keep the business afloat. He added he plans to eventually rebuild.
A GoFundMe has been created to help support the business. You can find more information here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-rebuild-a-beloved-brookline-dive-shop-after-devastating
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW