Flames and smoke billow from the roof of the new Doherty Memorial High School construction site in Worcester (Photo | twitter.com/FporcFranco)

Fire officials are investigating a fire that erupted on the roof of the new Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, causing flames and billowing smoke into the air just after 3 p.m. Monday afternoon.

Officials reported heavy flames and smoke from the roof of 299 Highland St. that could be seen from downtown Worcester. The fire was located on the roof of one of four buildings that are part of the construction of the new high school.

Fire officials struck three alarms to respond to the fire.

Worcester Fire Deputy Chief Adam Roche at a press conference Monday afternoon said that foam roofing insulation that had been placed on the roof earlier that day appeared to have caught on fire but did not appear to be the cause of the fire, which is still under investigation.

Roche did say “some welding was going on” at the time of the fire.

The fire department immediately started a “defense attack using aerial apparatus to put the fire out” and it was under control in about 30 minutes, Roche reported. As of 4:37 p.m. Roche said the fire was about 99% contained, with firefighters still pulling apart the material that caught fire to chase hot spots.

“Right now we’re concerned about the structural integrity of the roof so it might take some time to get that pulled apart,” Roche said.

Since the fire was five stories up, the fire department needed to use aerial apparatus to get to it, according to Roche, who said they also needed to use long hydrant lays.

One worker was transported to the hospital. Her condition was not immediately known, but when she was taken from the scene she was holding a cloth over her mouth. Roche said he was not sure how many construction workers were at the scene when the fire broke out.

Mayor Joe Petty described the fire as a “gut punch” given how much planning has gone into the more than $300 million school construction project.

There was no immediate estimate on the impact of the fire on the construction of the school or how much of a delay it could cause. The school is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2024.

School had already let out at Doherty High next door and no students were around, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Rachel Monárrez said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

School at Doherty Memorial High is not affected and is scheduled to resume Tuesday.

“I wasn’t happy to hear about my brand new school having a fire, no one would want that,” Monárrez told MassLive after the press conference. She said her first question was if any of her students or staff were injured, but said she quickly found out none were.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, Highland Street remained closed. Roche said it would be a while before the street was allowed to reopen as the fire department had miles and miles of hose to pick up.

Construction on the site will cease as the fire is investigated. Roche said he’s not sure how long construction will cease since investigators will have to assess the damage to the structural beams and then see what has to be cut out and what has to be replaced.

Roche said he it looks like any damage to the structure was contained to the roof, but the structural beams may have sustained damage depending on what temperature the fire reached.

“They can sustain damage around 1,000 to 1,200 degrees, but I don’t know if we got there,” Roche said.

Monárrez thanked the first responders, saying their quick response showed her was a great community she’s moved to.

Emergency crews respond to the report of a fire at the construction site for the new Doherty Memorial High School on Highland Street in Worcester. (Kiernan Dunlop)

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