It seems only minor injuries to,people. My son had to evacuate. Is power back on yet?
The latest info may be seen here:
http://whdh.com/news/firefighters-battling-massive-fire-in-cambridge/
Wow, that’s horrendous. It seems almost miraculous that no one was killed.
From what I understand the fire was in east Cambridge. My DD’s campus got ashes blown and that’s about it. The fire was spreading fast because of the wind.
S1 and DIL lived in E. Cambridge until 2 years ago, maybe 8 blocks away from the fire. So glad there were no major injuries or fatalities.
It was a big fire in the Kendall Square area. We saw huge bilowing smoke while driving into Boston on Route 2 and the smell of burnt plastic was very strong when we were strolling in the Beacon Hill neighborhood yesterday late afternoon. I’m glad to hear that injuries were limited. The Oakland fire is heartbreaking.
Old wooden buildings with multiple occupancy=dangerous. So glad there were no fatalities. Public transport seems to be working okay.
@NJSue That describes about 80% of the housing units in Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and a few other cities around Boston. I saw a 1 year old 36 unit deluxe condo building in a newer suburb burn to the ground because someone flicked a cigarette butt in the mulch.
When H and I drove up to S’s place in NH last week, I said “My god, it looks like a fire trap.” Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me S was on speaker phone. Oops. But then we had an incident where a lamp almost set a chair on fire. Now this. It worries me. It does have smoke detectors and correct exits, but if a fire started on their main level and they were asleep up on the second floor loft area, the second exit is a window about a 2 storey drop. 
Consolation, get him one of those ladders that hooks on the window. Two stories is too big a drop.
^ was just going to suggest the same thing,
Son’s whole block ( in Brighton) are all brick buildings, plus he lives on first floor. Drop from their terrace is doable, and they have two other doors in their apt. to get out.
S’s apartment in Somerville looks like it could go up in flames quite easily. I sure hope the smoke detectors work. At least he’s on the first floor.
Some of the six young people who died in Portland had rope ladders supplied by their landlord. 
He was just sentenced to 90 days in jail.
I haven’t followed the entire thing in complete detail, but I would gather that some of the fault was on the part of the tenants, as in the Oakland situation. Some of these tenants had apparently disabled the smoke alarms.
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/10/21/landlord-gregory-nisbet-awaits-verdict-in-manslaughter-case/
The International Building Code (which most states use) states that there should be a smoke detector in every bedroom, and in the halls outside the bedrooms. In addition there should be a carbon monoxide detector on every floor with an appliance that could produce the gas. (Generally gas stoves and furnaces.) The new code also says they shouldn’t be placed too close to kitchens or bathrooms because they are apt to go off unnecessarily and then people disable them. Most people don’t have what is called for. I urge you to check what you have. And don’t forget most smoke and carbon monoxide detectors only last ten years.
Here’s the link to the code. http://codes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/2015-I-Codes/NY/2015%20IRC%20HTML/Chapter%203.html They are covered in R314 and R315.
^Oooops, we don’t meet the code! No smoke detector in bedrooms.
Most people don’t meet code unless they’ve done a project that required a building permit in the last ten years. Around here at least I have to add smoke detectors to most of my plans because they aren’t there, and the inspectors look for them when they come. It was pretty funny when they came to my house when we remodelled and I couldn’t remember where we’d put the basement carbon monoxide detector. (Smokes we put on the ceiling but there are actually good reasons to put CO detectors closer to the ground because it’s heavier than air.)
I hadn’t even heard about the fire in Cambridge. Our son lives closer to the public library. We were worried about the Oakland fire, but fortunately our friends there were not involved.