Overview
- Crews disassembling the Vaillancourt Fountain saw a brief fire Wednesday during torch-cutting of a 10-ton arm, which they doused within minutes and reported no injuries.
- Officials said debris and rubber tubing inside the welded steel tubes likely ignited as sparks moved through the hollow arms like a chimney.
- The Arts Commission said dismantling will continue over the next few weeks after a safety review that updates cutting plans to eliminate similar flare-ups.
- The effort resumed after a state appeals court denied a preservationist request to halt the work, with a trial over the fountain’s fate set for August.
- Workers are lifting roughly 10-ton sections with a 265-ton crane and trucking them to storage while the city decides the permanent outcome, a months-long job budgeted at about $4 million after inspectors cited corrosion, asbestos and lead, and weak seismic performance.