Brookline Dive Shop Fire Injures Two in Explosion Boston
An explosion boston fire ripped through East Coast Divers on Route 9 in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 28, 2026, igniting compressed air tanks on the shop’s first floor. One employee suffered minor burn injuries, and one firefighter was hurt while attacking the blaze.
Brookline Fire Chief John Sullivan said the fire started in the back area of the shop, and he said the exact cause remains under investigation. The flames triggered multiple compressed air cannister explosions, and firefighters also rescued a cat from the second floor.
East Coast Divers on Route 9
Mike Williams, an employee at East Coast Divers, said the shop was in its busiest stretch of the year when the fire hit. “This is the start of our season. Our season is only like three months long, so we try to do as much as we can in the short period we have,” he said.
Williams said crews got people out of the upstairs apartments quickly. “We banged on the door and got everybody out from upstairs. There were only two people upstairs as far as I know,” he said.
Brookline Residents Displaced
Five residents were in town when the fire happened, and two residents were away. All of them have now been displaced. Sullivan said firefighters also saved a cat from the second floor, adding, “We did manage to save the cat from the second floor. He wasn't happy, but we got him back to his owner.”
The fire came after Brookline voted earlier in May to raise taxes in an override to maintain emergency services, according to Massachusetts State Representative Tommy Vitolo. He said, “We tend to only remember the importance of our emergency responders for days like today.”
Funding, Injuries, and Cleanup
Vitolo also said, “Fortunately, Brookline was thinking about our emergency response earlier in May when we voted to raise our taxes in an override to maintain services.”
By May 28, an online fundraiser for the dive shop had raised more than $2,000. The immediate damage left East Coast Divers facing cleanup just as its short season was getting underway, while the cause of the fire is still being examined.
