A fuel tanker truck turned over on 128 South early this morning in Needham and exploded. Both sides were shut down for a time, and the road "melted under the fire." Images from the explosion suggest a solid black cylinder of smoke rising from the highway. WCVB got a little carried away describing the incident, using phrases such as "massive" and "spectacular." They refrained from saying, "Wicked scary." The driver, a very lucky man, survived......

Bostonist visited what's left of James Hook & Co. yesterday as firefighters hosed down the wreckage. The scene attracted a steady stream of visitors who stood silently, paying their respects to the Boston landmark. See our earlier post about the fire for a photo of James Hook & Co. in better days.......

Fort Point landmark and Boston institution James Hook & Co., a lobster wholesaler, burned to the ground this morning in a seven alarm fire, the Globe reports. The fire closed the Moakley bridge, which connects South Boston to the Financial District, to vehicular traffic, causing a jumbled commute for beleaguered workers going to or from Southie. The blaze was said to have destroyed more than 60,000 pounds of lobster, valued at $9 a pound,......

Overnight, a fire broke out underground, prompting flames to shoot up from pissed-off manholes around Mass Ave and Dunster. At one point, the flames were 15 feet high. An NSTAR spokeswoman is calling it a "cable malfunction," but work crews weren't at the area when it started. The area has been closed off to traffic, and 700 customers are without power. The ABP, the Holyoke Center, and Cambridge Savings are closed. MBTA service is still......

--A three-alarm fire broke out at an apartment complex in Framingham yesterday afternoon. Three firefighters and three residents of the complex went to the hospital for minor injuries. [Boston Globe] --Two children died in a tragic fire in Holyoke on Thursday. Allegedly, a 6-year-old boy was playing with a lighter in his home, starting a fire that killed his 4-year-old brother and 9-month-old sister. [Boston Globe] --The pilot who was grounded after breaking away from......

Local newspapers have provided more background about 14-year-old Acia Johnson and her 3-year-old sister, Sophia, who perished in a house fire in South Boston over the weekend. Investigators have discovered that the girls' mother, Anna Reisopoulos, fought with an acquaintance at a wedding beforehand, and they suspect arson. They are already interviewing a suspect. Acia's twin brother, according to the Herald, heard someone banging on the door and a woman's screaming before the fire started.......

The Globe reports that an electrical fire broke out on the 12th floor of One Beacon around noon today. As of right now, two people have been sent to the hospital, and Andrew Ryan reported that one person was burned severely. Jessica Fargen at the Herald found more details on the victims. They were employees of the building's management company, and they were working in an electrical transformer room. WBZ described the scene: "Hundreds of......

--A three-alarm fire broke out at a West Roxbury apartment building. One woman went to the hospital, 25 people are homeless, and someone will have to pay $1 million in damages. Part of the problem was "plastic sprinkler piping that melted before it could douse the fire." What is the point of having sprinkler piping that melts? [Boston Herald] --A man died in West Roxbury last night when his car drove into a utility......

--A four-alarm fire broke out in Brookline overnight on Sewall Avenue. The building was vacant, but 120 people were evacuated, and three firefighters were injured. [WCVB] --Heist, heist baby. The Herald pulls out all the stops when anniversary the theft of priceless art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. [Boston Herald] --Whole Foods plus the South End sounds like a perfect storm for satire. [Boston Real Estate Blog] --The priceless line of......

A four-alarm fire broke out at the Mandarin Hotel construction site this morning, and it was so strong that it shut down Boylston Street. The fire's origins have been located in "some cabinets on the fourth floor of the 15-story hotel," WBZ reports. The cabinets were part of a fitness room. WBZ has some scary footage of the smoke going up in the sky. Only one construction work sustained "minor burns." That's a true stroke......

Even though the day was so soggy that Wollaston Station flooded for a brief time, a fire broke out in the old Filene's Basement that is above the Downtown Crossing T stop. The fire broke out at 7:00 pm, 50 people were evacuated, and the Downtown Crossing T stop was shut down for 2 hours, between about 7:00 and 9:00. A spokesman for the fire department told the Globe: "Pipe insulation and other materials caught......

--Local news outlets were especially good at stating the obvious today. The weather is windy, as in 70 mph, and the snot will freeze in your nose once you step outside. [Boston Globe, Uh, everyone] --Ten people were forced out into the cold after a fire broke out in their house this morning in Everett. [Boston Herald] --Sometimes justice has a laugh at our expense. A convicted Level 3 sex offender from Uxbridge won......

--If we can't make an event out of a Super Bowl victory, then we'll make one out of Super Tuesday. Get answers to your burning questions, watch McLovin learn to vote, experience the rock-star presence of Barack Obama, and find out where to party. [All links Bostonist] --One of presidential candidate Mitt Romney's fund-raisers, James Sims, has stepped down from his post as a national finance co-chair. It seems that he had trouble paying......

--Last night, a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis was unable to get out of her home and died in a fire in Wellesley. Wellesley's fire chief said a space heater was the cause. [WCVB] --A fire broke out on the third floor of the Boston Marriott Cambridge last night. No one was hurt, but those who were evacuated were probably freezing. [Boston Globe] --A reporter checks in on the father of Alex Jimenez, the......

--A massive fire that started in an abandoned nightclub and eventually destroyed 14 buildings in downtown Lawrence broke into the national news. In a miracle given the size of the fire, no one was hurt. However, 30 families were displaced. Authorities think the fire is suspicious. The owner, who was in the process of turning the spot into a restaurant, says he has no insurance and that someone "jealous of his success" started it.......

--News the Boston Fire Department doesn't need: An anonymous person has accused firefighters of cheating on a promotional test in November. [Boston Globe] --In Hyde Park yesterday, a four-alarm fire that started at Maria's Hair Fashion damaged eight apartments, two restaurants, the salon, and another business. No one was seriously hurt, but this is the second time a salon belonging to the same owner has burned down. [Boston Herald] --Mary Marques, the oldest resident......

A fire broke out yesterday afternoon at the emerging National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories, which is going up in the South End. The fire was put out quickly and was "probably caused by careless disposal of a cigarette," the AP reports. Since the lab is being built, the "infectious diseases" aren't around. But the fire can't be reassuring news for those who are concerned about the presence of the biolab in their neighborhood. Opponents of......

--What is the mystery object pictured above? It was spotted off Willow Avenue in Somerville early Friday, and Big Fat Whale was there to capture the thing in motion. [Big Fat Whale] --Tensions among racial groups in the Fire Department and tensions between the firefighters' union and the panel that is supposed to overhaul the department have collided. After the firefighters' union demanded that its members resign from the panel, a black firefighter refused......

Our friend Paul Keleher is quickly becoming our go-to guy for great holiday photos. This shot of a fire dancer, or 'poi,' is clearly fantastic - the long exposure he used captures the dancer's full range of motion. A perfect shot with which to ring in the New Year. Happy Oh-Eight everyone! Here's to a great year......

On New Year's Eve, firefighters battled a seven-alarm fire at a condo complex in South Boston. One 47-year-old man, Peter Clancy, died of smoke inhalation at the scene. Then, this morning, firefighters discovered the body of a woman who has not yet been identified. However, neighbors told the Globe that the second victim is Clancy's 46-year-old wife, Arvette. Eighteen families were left homeless as a result of the fire. The Clancy's had a 15-year-old......

--More snow on the way tonight! Get your space-savers ready! [WBZ] --Danny Ainge and Robert Kraft are Mitt Men. [Boston Herald] --Another fire, this time at a nursing home in Jamaica Plain early this morning. But a heroic rescue team managed to get a resident who was suffering a heart attack out of harm's way, and no one else got hurt. [WHDH] --Police are still looking for the remains of the man who died......

In Dorchester early this morning, two children died in a fire that may have been caused by a space heater. The fire started in a triple-decker on 44 Bellevue Street. The Globe reports, "Fire officials said a couple with five children lived on the first floor. Four of them, including the two who died, were sleeping in the room where the fire broke out." WCVB identified the victims as 9-year-old Rebecca Zizi and 11-year-old Rooben......

--After the panic, let's think about the fun aspects of winter--sleighs, end-of-year parties, presents, twinkling lights, and the general atmosphere of coziness. --This just in: The Patriots win, and the world learns that referees are sensitive about snowballs. More from the Redux tomorrow. --In Massachusetts' ongoing effort to get as far ahead of the political primary process as possible, the Globe has endorsed Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee and John McCain as the......

--Another storm is on the way starting tonight and running through Sunday evening. [WBZ] --One person died in a terrifying 8-alarm fire in downtown Gloucester last night. The fire also destroyed an apartment building and a synagogue. [Boston Globe, WCVB] --Regarding fires, b0st0n LiveJournal posted some fire safety tips. A lot of it is common sense (you really don't want to put the space heater by the curtains, ok?), but the reminders are useful. [b0st0n......

WGA Strike Support Rally Friday, December 14, 12:00 pm-3:00 pm Harvard Square Fans4writers.com Update: Bradley's Almanac just gave us a heads-up--the WGA East announced "Please RSVP to 212-767-7843 and leave the number of people in your party" if you plan to attend the event at the church. By now, we're all sick of the writers' strike, and Bostonist HQ is suffering from MCRW (Major Colbert Report Withdrawal). Rest assured, the writers are even sicker of......

--Representative Ed "Biz" Markey is going to Bali--in Second Life. Way to be hip to the Internets, but does that avatar look like him? Discuss. [Boston Globe] --Boston got dumped by CNN. A debate that was supposed to be in Boston next week has been knocked off the schedule because of the early caucus dates this year. And we were hoping for a look at Wolf Blitzer. [Boston Globe] --The jury in the trial of......

--Another snowstorm is on its way and is expected to have its greatest impact tonight. [WCVB] --Speaking of snow, Bostonist has the temperature and weather-condition icons at the top left of the home page. If you click on that icon, you'll get all the latest weather news. --People got cold in order to protest the heat of global warming during yesterday's Polar Bear Plunge in Concord. [AP/Globe] --Patriots owner Robert Kraft is partnering with......

--Fires ran rampant yesterday. A mother and her son were injured last night in a fire in Somerville. One firefighter was treated and released at the hospital. [Boston Globe] --Another fire broke out in Haverhill last night, and people were injured jumping out of the windows. No one died in the blaze, but 24 people have lost their homes. [Boston Globe, Boston Herald] --The state Supreme Judicial Court is letting Heidi Erickson, who kept......

--Only one woman at MIT this year was granted tenure. Uh, you've come a long way, baby? [Boston Globe] --In better news for gender equality, Massachusetts ranks fifth when it comes to the number of women in powerful state government positions. Women make up almost half of Governor Deval Patrick's leadership team. [Boston Herald] --Seven people were injured in a house fire in Brockton yesterday afternoon, including former Brockton city councilor George Papas. [The Enterprise]......

Somebody's in trouble. The trucker who took a turn too fast in Everett and caused the tanker explosion and fire that left 60 people homeless at last count had a lead foot. Casey Ross at the Herald writes: Chad LaFrance, 30, of Dover, N.H., has three speeding violations between 2000 and 2002 in New Hampshire, with one citation for going 83 mph in a 55-mph zone in 2001, according to a spokeswoman for N.H.......