BOSTON — A hydrant burst open in Beacon Hill on Saturday morning, forcing residents out of their homes and possibly causing significant damage to the structure of a condo building.
Fire officials were standing by in the area of Anderson and Revere streets to make sure the building adjacent to the break was structurally sound to do repairs on. One block has their water shut off and some residents might not be allowed back into their homes until Monday - if an engineer finds it's even safe to do so.
The incident happened just after 8 a.m., where water could be seen gushing down Anderson Street.
"The whole Anderson Street going down was completely, completely full and as you can see some of the street has come up, but some cars that are really low were underwater," said Elana, a Beacon Hill resident.
Boston Water and Sewer workers said it is still unclear exactly why the hydrant burst open in the first place.
"The hydrant itself is in fine condition, the pipes and supporting infrastructure are all in good shape so there could be other factors that caused that to go," said Stephen Mulloney, a spokesperson for Boston Water and Sewer.
The force of the rushing water dislodged bricks in the streets and in one of the buildings nearby.
"It's definitely old structures, brick, the mortars been probably eroded," said Boston Fire Department district chief Fred Lorenz. "This building here was a concern cause it's on the corner, it's exposed on three sides to the elements and it has been for years. There's nothing really on either side to support it, so we're really concerned about a collapse in the corner."
Firefighters are concerned about the stability of the building on the corner, and are waiting for an engineer to assess the damage before they allow residents back in.
The road has since been reopened and the scene has pretty much been cleared, but it will take a couple more days before we learn whether the building suffered any significant structural damage.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story reported that this was a water main break. It has been corrected to say it was a fire hydrant that gave way, according to Boston Water and Sewer Commission's Stephen Maloney.
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