The most heartbreaking tragedy in Boston Fire Department history struck without warning on a Saturday afternoon in the Back Bay. Fire broke out in the former Hotel Vendome at 2:35 p.m. on June 17, 1972, during renovations to convert the century-old luxury hotel to condominiums. Box 1571 rang first, with three more to follow. The fire was under control within two hours, but then the unexpected happened. An entire five-story section of the building collapsed, trapping 17 firefighters and killing nine of them. Forty years later the memory of that day remains sadly vivid for many. Former Boston Globe staff photographer George Rizer, who arrived on scene shortly after the collapse, described the scene: “I was only part time, in my second year in the business. I was 26. Most of the staffers weren’t working that evening because of the Boston Press Photographers Association annual awards ball. I remember standing on a mailbox on the corner of Newbury Street and Dartmouth Street making most of the pictures. I didn’t move much for the next few hours. The firefighters I photographed being rescued had been on the top floors and rode the collapse down. I don’t remember sirens or a lot of shouting. It was quiet. It was dig with your hands, dig with your tools. And they were always working under duress. They didn’t know what else might collapse. My date for the night for the ball was sitting out in front of the Globe in a white dress waiting for me for five hours.” — Lane Turner

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  Frank Wing/Globe Staff

  June 17, 1972: A crowd gathered at the corner of Dartmouth Street and Commonwealth Avenue to watch the Boston Fire Department fight the four-alarm blaze in the former Hotel Vendome.
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  George Rizer/Globe Staff

  June 17, 1972: Firefighters and emergency personnel worked to remove a victim from the rubble left by the fire after a partial building collapse at the Hotel Vendome. Nine firefighters were killed in the collapse of the building, the worst loss of life in the history of the Boston Fire Department.
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  Tom Landers/Globe staff

  June 18, 1972: Still frantically searching at 1 a.m., rescue personnel dug in the rubble of the collapsed section of the Hotel Vendome to try to reach colleagues.
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  Joe Runci/Globe Staff

  June 27, 1972: Ten days after the fatal fire, the former Hotel Vendome destruction remained an open wound in the city.