photo by Edwin Folven

A fire erupted in a vacant building in the 4700 block of Melrose Avenue on Oct. 1, sending approximately 90 firefighters into action. The blaze was reported at 3:25 p.m. in a combination one- and two-story building on the south side of Melrose Avenue and Harvard Boulevard. Firefighters contained the flames to the structure and the fire was extinguished at 3:20 p.m. The cause is under investigation and no estimate of damage or loss was provided. The blaze caused traffic delays for more than an hour as firefighters blocked Melrose Avenue in both directions.