Crime & Safety
Permit For Welding At Doherty HS Expired When Fire Started: City
Worcester fire officials believe a welder at the school construction site sparked a fire on Monday.
WORCESTER, MA — A welding incident sparked the fire that damaged the under-construction Doherty High School Monday, and city officials have halted welding work at the site due to an expired permit.
The Doherty fire broke out around 3 p.m. Monday when a welder ignited insulation that was being stored near the roof of the future school. The fire sent a thick plume of black smoke into the sky above Worcester, but firefighters had the blaze under control in about an hour.
One person was hospitalized due to the fire, but their injuries were not serious, officials said.
"At the time of the incident, the required hot work permit from the Worcester Fire Department had lapsed. The Worcester Fire Department will not issue another hot work permit until an acceptable construction safety plan is presented and approved," a city spokesperson said in a news release Tuesday.
The city's Department of Inspectional Services was also in the midst of assessing the extent of the damage to the school's steel structure.
Construction on the school started late in 2021 and the school is tentatively set to open in 2024. The original cost was estimated at $293 million, but has ballooned by about $20 million due to an increase in the cost of building materials.
