Updated: 7:42 PM EDT Jul 25, 2021
The driver of a street sweeper that ended up bursting into flames in Somerville on Sunday likely prevented serious property damage, according to the firefighters union.Video shared by the Somerville Firefighters Local 76 on social media shows the burning vehicle near the Columbia Factory Store at 401 Assembly Row.The union wrote that upon seeing smoke coming from the vehicle, the driver of the Millennium Maintenance street sweeper moved as far away from nearby buildings and cars as possible before exiting the vehicle."This move likely saved serious property damage to multiple cars and possibly The Block 6 High Rise building," the Local 76 wrote on Facebook.According to the union, Somerville firefighters arrived at the scene within minutes thanks to light Sunday morning traffic and were able to knock down the fire without any other property sustaining damage.No injuries were reported.In its social media posts, the Local 76 advocated for adding a fully-staffed engine company to the Assembly Row neighborhood, describing it as "a city within a city.""This could have been a lot worse," the Local 76 tweeted.NewsCenter 5 contacted Millennium Maintenance & Power Sweeping and asked the company for a comment about the incident, but has yet to receive a reply.