An estimated 10 vehicles caught fire inside a Worcester-based UMass Medical School parking garage Wednesday. The garage is frequented by patients and visitors of UMass Memorial Medical Center, also in Worcester, according to telegram.com.
UMass Memorial Medical Center President Patrick Muldoon told telegram.com a smoke alarm in the garage went off around 4:30 p.m. Fire officials located a car that was ablaze on the third floor of the parking structure. The fire spread to nearby vehicles and smoke began to infiltrate the adjoining ambulatory care center's air handling unit, Mr. Muldoon said.
Patients and staff in the ambulatory care center were briefly evacuated. No injuries were reported.
Mr. Muldoon told telegram.com the charred vehicles were towed off-site, and people were allowed to enter the garage and retrieve their vehicles around 7:30 p.m. The parking structure sustained some melted electrical wiring, but there was no structural damage to the garage or the attached ambulatory care facility.
The fire department inspected the scene but did not inform Mr. Muldoon of the cause of the fire as of Wednesday evening, according to the report.
Roughly 40 to 50 parking spots remain walled off as of Thursday morning. However, the parking structure and ambulatory care center remain open.