The New England Casket Co., founded decades ago by an Italian cabinet maker in East Boston, was destroyed in a massive fire Friday afternoon that sent thick plumes of smoke laced with chemicals into the air and forced the evacuation of the Orient Heights neighborhood.
The 9-alarm fire drew about 200 firefighters from Boston, Chelsea, Winthrop, and other communities to battle the fire, which broke out just after 3 p.m. at the large industrial building on Bennington Street.
The fire raged for hours and caused “millions and millions” worth of damages, Fire Commissioner Joe Finn said.
“We’re still fighting this fire,” Finn said during a news briefing at the scene at about 7:20 p.m. “We’re still trying to get a handle on this fire.”
He said there are “some chemicals in the air” from the lacquers used to finish the caskets. Authorities monitored the air quality of the neighborhood with meters, “and they’re well within the acceptable range,” Finn said.
Still, authorities evacuated the neighborhood near the fire “out of an abundance of caution.”
He did not know how many people were displaced. He said one police officer was sent to a local hospital with smoke inhalation.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh said the fire was one of the largest he has seen during his time in office.
“I’m just grateful no one is hurt,” Walsh said at the news briefing.
Finn ordered an 8th alarm shortly before 5:30 p.m. as firefighters dealt with a water supply issue. About 45 minutes later, Finn struck a 9th alarm.
Dozens of fire trucks lined Bennington Street, and firefighters fought the fire from multiple angles. But their efforts were hampered by an apparent water-pressure problem.
At one point, firefighters were ordered out of the building, out of concern for their safety.
Walsh attributed the pressure problem to the building’s location in a low-lying area. Pressure is greatest on Orient Heights, a residential neighborhood at the top of a hill.
But the casket company is located “at the end of the line,” Walsh said. “We’re down in the lowlands here. That’s where the pressure has a problem.”
The cause of the fire was not known Friday night. It appeared to start in the roof area, above a sprinkler system, Finn said.
“It appears to have been where the furnace comes through the roof,” he said.
As the fire raged, a wall of flames was visible on Bennington Street. Roads were closed and the MBTA suspended Blue Line service to the area. The blaze also drew scores of onlookers, including many residents stunned by the sight of a neighborhood business going up in flames.
“It looks like a total loss,” said Gerard E. Millerick, 75, watching as flames licked the roof of the structure.
Millerick said he has lived in the neighborhood for about 30 years. On some days, depending on how the wind blows, residents can smell fumes from varnishes used on the caskets drifting through the air.
Finn said the company stored chemicals in the building, but he did not say what kind.
Residents were evacuated in the area of Bennington and Leyden streets because of the heavy smoke that henveloped the Orient Heights area.
Police officers and firefighters knocked on doors to alert people. Residents were sent to the Curtis Guild Elementary School and to the Paris Street Community Center. The Red Cross of Massachusetts, staff from the city’s Centers for Youth and Families, and other agencies were on hand to assist them.
“At the beginning we weren’t scared,” resident Ana Lezama said outside the school.
Another resident, Leonard DeAngelico, was evacuated with his wife, children, and cat.
“I don’t mind it. I’d rather be safe than sorry,” he said. “We know this is going to go on all night.”
The New England Casket Co., run since the 1930s by generations of the Tobia family, makes handcrafted caskets that are sold to distributors and funeral homes across the country, according to a Globe story published in 2017.
The family could not be reached for comment.
One Boston funeral home director said the company is known for its service and craftsmanship.
“They’re a great company and I’ll miss them,” said Richard F. Gormley, owner of the Gormley Funeral Home in West Roxbury.
He buys about 300 caskets per year from the company, he said.
“They are very nice family to deal with. Very accommodating. Give us fast service — exactly what we need.”
The operator of a funeral home in Sacramento, Calif. that buys caskets from the company said the fire could have a major impact on the industry’s supply chain.
“It is going to be devastating to a lot of people,” said Dawn Lielke, a secretary at Pettigrew & Sons Casket Co., by telephone Friday evening. “Suppliers like New England just don’t exist anymore. They are the go-to casket people for companies like us.”
She added, “I am devastated for everybody at New England, the family that owns the company, all the employees. . . . It’s just heartbreaking to think what is going to happen to them.”
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