Firey Fury

A Brattle Cab Company taxi burst into flames last night at 8 p.m. on Mass Ave. directly behind Straus Hall, filling the Square with black smoke.

The driver of the Plymouth Fury, Mark Conners, had stopped at the traffic light near Johnson Gate when he noticed sparks under the car's dashboard, Conners said last night.

Connors jumped out of the car and escaped the fire unhurt. He was carrying no passengers at the time.

Paul Saurwein '40, who saw the incident and called the Cambridge Fire Department from a phone booth across the street to report the fire, said last night, "It started as little sparks in the dashboard and in minutes, ten-foot high flames rose over the car."