Worcester officials say Washington Heights building will be sprinkled as permit review proceeds after June three‑alarm fire

Chair Kate Toomey and city officials told the City of Worcester Public Safety Committee that the multi‑unit building in the Washington Heights development that suffered a three‑alarm fire in June 2024 will be rebuilt with a sprinkler system and that a building permit for the work was submitted and is under review.

The committee heard the update Tuesday evening from Fire Chief Martin Dyer and Interim Inspectional Services Commissioner David Horne, who described coordination between fire prevention and building officials on plans for reconstruction and inspection.

A chief’s summary said the development’s buildings have shared roofs, which lets fire spread through attics; new construction of comparable size would require sprinklers under current building codes. Chief Dyer said the damaged building “is, in fact, going to be sprinkled. There's a building permit that was submitted just a couple of days ago. It's under review. Both the fire department and the building department are reviewing it as we speak.”

Horne told the committee that preconstruction meetings with owners, contractors and engineers are standard and that larger rebuilding projects often have repeated, scheduled inspections. “Some of these bigger jobs,” he said, “twice, three times a week” by a building inspector, with fire prevention staff doing periodic checks of mechanical, plumbing, fire‑protection and wiring work.

Committee members asked about code changes and whether the older shared‑roof construction is still permitted. Dyer said that continuous fire separation through the attic is required in modern two‑family and larger assemblies. He said in this case the owner may install a dry sprinkler system in the attic, which can reduce some separation requirements that would apply to an unsprinkled building.

Committee members also discussed tenants displaced by the blaze. Chief Dyer said the fire and emergency management teams hand out an “after the fire” brochure to affected residents after incidents and that staff have been in contact with the property owner and tenants; he noted emergency management is managing any post‑fire fund but that he did not have an immediate update on the fund’s status. The chief said the city sent a “dangerous” notice for the property and has been in communication with the owners since the fire.

When asked about the cause of the fire, Dyer said the incident “is still being classified as being under investigation.”

Votes at a glance

- Approval of minutes: Order that the City Council standing committee on public safety hereby approves the minutes of the public safety committee meeting on 01/21/2025 — approved (roll call recorded as Councillor Hejda: yes; Councillor Bergman: yes; Chair Kate Toomey: yes). Motion mover/second: not specified in the transcript.

- Informational communication re: the June 2024 Washington Heights fire — accepted and filed (voice vote). No recorded roll call in the transcript.

Context and next steps

Officials told the committee there is a two‑year zoning moratorium period for rebuilding of preexisting structures, and the property has applied for permits within that window. City staff said they will continue coordinated inspections under the state building code and NFPA construction‑safety standards for major projects. Committee members asked staff to continue outreach to displaced residents and to follow up with emergency management about post‑fire assistance.