CAMBRIDGE – Residents and business owners are getting fed up over an abandoned building that keeps catching fire.
Fire crews keep getting calls to 201 Beverly St., with the latest one coming on Sunday.
At about 1 p.m., officials were called to the building for a "small smoke incident." Hours later, flames were shooting through the roof.
It's not the first set of incidents: another fire broke out earlier this year. The same happened years earlier in 2012.
"Tear it down, build something that's worthwhile looking at," says nearby resident Craig Alderman.
He says it's a well-known fact that homeless people find shelter in the abandoned building, known for drug use.
Nearby business owners too nervous to speak on camera agree. The fires are also safety concerns.
"The Cambridge Fire Department treats all vacant properties seriously because of the potential risks that are involved for firefighters and the public," says Keith Clarke with the department.
He says firefighters check in on abandoned buildings regularly to see if there are any modifications by those who occupy them.
He adds that firefighters often have to risk going inside even if there's a fire.
"If there was an event, we may not necessarily be able to guarantee that it's completely abandoned, that there's no occupants inside," the fire official continues.
Residents like Alderman say they don't want anyone to get hurt and would rather have someone or the city do something with the property.
"We don't need fires to be the reason for fixing it," Alderman says."
"We need somebody to step up to the plate, buy the land, do something with the land."
City officials say they received an application last week from the property owners to demolish the remaining buildings on the site.
The application hasn't been approved yet.
