With Offices Closed, Boston Firms Implement Disaster Plans

A handful of Boston-based companies have implemented disaster recovery plans with SunGard Availability Services, primarily due to access restrictions as the FBI and Boston police investigate Monday's terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Five SunGard customers with offices on Boylston Street, where the bombings occurred, have declared disasters and are implementing plans for offsite operations, according to SunGard. A number of customers have moved staff to SunGard's business continuity center in Marlborough, Mass., the company said.

One company that said it had employees working off-site in Marlborough was MFS Investment Management, which was among a number of investment firms in the Boylston Street area that had employees either working from home or from business recovery facilities.

On Tuesday a 12-block area of Boston's Back Bay section was closed, as authorities combed the crime scene for evidence and clues to the identity of the bomber. Two explosions near the finish line of the marathon killed three people and injured 176 others. Copley Square was closed from Massachusetts Avenue to Clarendon and between Huntington and Newbury.

Boston police said the Copley Square area was "the most complex crime scene in the history of the department." Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told Boston.com that police hoped to reduce the size of the crime scene, but that he expected that much of the area would be closed off for "for another two days."