On Friday, May 15, 2015 at 5:11 pm the Somerville F.D. responded to a report of a vehicle that had crashed into an occupied building at 872 Broadway.
A mini- van had crashed through the front wall of the single family home and entered approximately five feet into the building. Both the driver of the vehicle and an occupant of the home were transported to the hospital. The occupant of the home had been in the basement near where the vehicle crashed through.

The home suffered significant damage to the front portion of the building. Firefighters shut down electricity and gas service to the home. Firefighters shored up the basement ceiling to prevent any additional collapse and stood by until the vehicle was removed. Mayor Curtatone and former Chief Kelleher have been progressive in recent years in providing equipment and training to Somerville firefighters to handle technical incidents such as this. This training and equipment was put to good use in this incident with firefighters using shoring equipment carried by the Rescue Company. Inspectional Services and Somerville Police also responded.

Later the same evening, just after midnight, Somerville firefighters again responded to a car crash into a building. A taxi cab crashed into the front wall of 1370 Broadway causing significant damage to a ground level apartment. The cab driver was transported to the hospital with head trauma. The exterior wall was pushed approximately two feet into the apartment. The crash resulted in the rupture of a water pipe and a substantial amount of water flowed into the apartment and basement. Fortunately, the occupant of the apartment who was sitting in the living room when the car crashed through, was not injured.

Photos courtesy of Somerville F.D.