Boston, MA (December 17, 2021)—An eight-alarm fire tore through a commercial building housing Boston’s long-running Zippah Recording Studios Friday morning. It took more than 150 firefighters nearly 7 hours to get the blaze under control at 185 Corey Road, located in the city’s Brighton neighborhood, ultimately sending one firefighter to the hospital with minor injuries.
A Zippah Recording GoFundMe page was set up by mid-day. Set with a goal of $50,000, it raised more than $12,000 in its first two hours.
The building, which previously also housed a dance school and Music Maker Studios, reportedly caught fire around 4:30 AM. As the fire spread to the roof by 5AM, firefighters were hampered by 30 MPH winds that sent heavy, dense smoke throughout the neighborhood, leading to zero visibility at the site and causing one nearby school to cancel classes. Mayor Michelle Wu visited the scene mid-morning, getting a briefing from Fire Commissioner Dempsey.
Founded in 2003 by Brian Charles, guitarist of indie act The Sheila Divine, Zippah Recording just renovated its control room two weeks ago. A 2019 Pro Sound News profile of the facility characterized it as “crammed, floor to ceiling, with a collection of gear that enables Charles and his young staff to create recordings.” No word is available yet on the condition of the studio, as firefighters are still putting out ‘hot spots’ as the afternoon wears on.
Over the years, the facility has worked with acts like Gigolo Aunts, Dispatch, Magnet, The Upper Crust, Lee Ranaldo, Paul Kolderie, Tanya Donelly, and hundreds of others.
