4 firefighters hurt during hours-long response at Boston trash facility fire

A massive fire has been burning for hours at a Roxbury trash transfer station on Sunday and Boston fire officials say they expect to remain on scene throughout the night.

Firefighters were first called to the facility on Gerard Street around 8:30 a.m.

“The trash is so big, it’s piled in there and the fire was underneath all the trash, we couldn’t get in there, I couldn’t put people in there to jeopardize their safety for trash," explained Boston Fire Commissioner Paul Burke.

The facility primarily serves the construction industry and is used to dump materials after demolition. 

“The trash is from buildings, when they tear down buildings, they bring the building, separate all the materials and ship it out in trucks, piles of wood, wall board, anything that’s in a building, each pile was going pretty good," Burke said.

Four firefighters were injured -- three of them taken to the hospital with what officials described as minor injuries.

The company that owns the building, ReSource Waste Services, said in a statement it sorts and recycles concrete, metal and wood and that no asbestos or hazardous materials are accepted at the facility.

Boston Fire said the Environmental Protection Agency is testing the air quality but so far there are no issues.

Watch video from the fire scene:

At approximately 8:30 heavy smoke from a large trash transfer station at 65 Gerard st. Roxbury . This is now at 5 alarms. pic.twitter.com/VdwBqAaBy3

— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) March 16, 2025

“There must be a hundred metric tons of refuse piled up, it’s 30 feet high, the pile, we’re using heavy equipment to pull the pile apart," said Patrick Ellis, chief of operations for the Boston Fire Department.

So far it’s too early to tell what started the massive fire in the first place.

Nobody was in the building when the fire started. Firefighters will be on scene overnight and into much of tomorrow.

All Firefighters have been ordered to out of the building, a 6th alarm has been ordered. Firefighters are attacking fire from the exterior only . pic.twitter.com/uGYEdMUHHs

— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) March 16, 2025

Approximately 150 Firefighters continue to battle the 8 alarm fire on Gerard st. Roxbury. We remind the neighbors in the area to keep their doors and windows closed to keep the smoke out and avoid the area . pic.twitter.com/uF32ezC0uC

— Boston Fire Dept. (@BostonFire) March 16, 2025

The Boston Public Health Commission issued a warning for Roxbury neighbors near Gerard Street to keep their doors and windows closed to keep smoke out. They also said anyone with an HVAC system should turn it off until the smoke is gone.

Roxbury neighbors near Gerard St. should keep doors and windows closed to keep smoke out and please avoid the area. Our teams are monitoring air quality. If your building has an HVAC system, please turn it off until the smoke is gone.#Boston #Roxbury https://t.co/jmvhheJXNs

— Boston Public Health Commission (@HealthyBoston) March 16, 2025

No further details were immediately available.