A fire ripped through East Coast Divers on Route 9 in Brookline on May 28, 2026, and multiple compressed air tanks exploded as crews fought the blaze. One employee suffered minor burns and one firefighter was cut while attacking the fire.
Firefighters got the call around 10:20 a.m. at 213 Boylston St., where the dive shop sits on the first floor of a three-story building. They brought the three-alarm building fire under control within about an hour, but not before the blast sent smoke and damage through the shop and the apartments above it.
The fire displaced everyone living in the building. Five residents were in town when it broke out and two were away, while around seven residents who live in two apartments above the dive shop were forced out. Two residents went to the hospital to be checked for smoke inhalation, and firefighters rescued a cat from the second floor.
Mike Williams, who helped get people out of the upstairs apartments, said the crew banged on doors and cleared everyone quickly. John Sullivan said the cat was saved from the second floor and returned to its owner, and the scene showed how fast a shop fire can spread in a building where people live overhead.
The blaze hit at the start of East Coast Divers' busiest season, when the shop rents equipment, offers lessons and runs trips. Williams said it is the time of year when the business tries to do as much as it can in a short stretch, making the damage a blow just as demand is rising. Route 9 was shut down for a time and later reopened, and National Grid disconnected power to the building.
Brookline Fire Chief John Sullivan said the air tanks were only partly oxygen, but he also stressed that oxygen is dangerous and that even the 23% in air can help fuel an explosion. The fire started in the back area of the shop, and investigators from the State Fire Marshal's Office and the Brookline fire department are still trying to determine what set it off.
Tommy Vitolo said days like this are when people remember the value of emergency responders, and he pointed to the town's vote earlier in May to raise taxes in an override meant to maintain services. For Brookline, the immediate danger has passed, but the unanswered question is the one investigators are still working on: what sparked the fire in the back of the shop in the first place.
