On the night of Monday, Feb. 25, there was fire at the Peninsula apartments, address 401 Mount Vernon Street in Boston, where a number of UMass Boston students reside. Between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m., the Peninsula 1 was evacuated as a precautionary measure. 

No one was hurt as a result of this incident; however, there was damage to the building. “The only damages were to the apartment on the penthouse floor,” wrote Alyssa Trinidad, member of the College of Management, in an email to The Mass Media. “I know this because there were many trash bags on the floor with charred clothing and belongings. There were also fire and burn personnel examining the situation the following day.”

The Boston Police Department, Boston Fire Department and Longwood Security (the Peninsula’s private security firm) were on the scene within 10 minutes. Within the next 20 minutes, the Peninsula entrance became crowded with emergency workers and safety personnel.

Trinidad wrote that “all security personnel were compliant and quick to react.” She added “Peninsula is well equipped- each apartment has a smoke detector, flame sensors and retardants above stoves, and a mega announcer (which is how we knew to evacuate).”

According to Trinidad, blame for the incident probably lies with some of the residents. “From what I have heard around the apartment, the fire had occurred [due to] some people on the top floor being careless.”