April 2015

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 313 emergency incidents during the month of April including 48 box alarms and 265 still alarms.

The department responded to two requests for mutual aid during April, once to Lynnfield and once to Beverly. It received mutual aid twice during April, three times from Reading and twice from Stoneham. Firefighter Daniel Marsinelli responded as part of the District 2 Hazardous Materials Response Team to an incident at 86 Preston Street in Beverly during the morning of April 5. The incident involved an unknown white powder at that location. Firefighter Marsinelli’s participation in this team is completely funded by the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services.

Firefighters under the command of Captain Richard Smith responded to a fire a 35 Lakeview Avenue during the early evening of April 5. The fire started when a pillow lying against an electric baseboard heating unit ignited. The fire was quickly extinguished with minor damage to some outside decking and adjacent brush in the area where the pillow was placed after it was removed from the house by the homeowner.

Crews working under Captain Joseph Riley extinguished a smoky dryer fire during the morning of April 12 at 7 Kingmont Street. The fire started after the dryer malfunctioned igniting an accumulation of built up lint within the unit. The fire was quickly extinguished by responding firefighters, however, the entire home suffered significant smoke damage. The family of four will be displace from the residence until repairs can be made to the residence.

An elderly man was quickly rescued when his vehicle rolled back onto his leg at a service station at 570 Main Street during the afternoon of April 13. Crews under Captain Richard Smith responded to the station and quickly lifted the vehicle off of the man within a minute of their arrival utilizing the department’s airbags. The man was quickly treated and, due to the nature of his injuries, a Medflight helicopter was requested to transport him to the hospital. The helicopter landed at Veteran’s Field and quickly transported him to Tufts Medical Center. The man’s injuries were not life threatening thanks to the quick work of responding Wakefield firefighters, police officers and Action Ambulance paramedics.

Firefighters under the command of Captain Randy Hudson responded to 83 Cedar Street after an outside trash fire spread to a nearby rear porch during the evening of April 15. The fire was quickly contained to the area of origin with no extension inside the building. The cause of the fire was determined to be the careless disposal of a cigarette. There were no injuries during and no one was displaced as a result of the fire.

All department groups commenced their annual inspections and surveys of businesses located in their assigned districts during the month of April. All groups reviewed Standard Operating Guidelines on the use of thermal imaging cameras, fireground evacuation signals, motor vehicle accidents and the use of Rapid Intervention Crews for firefighter rescue during the month of April.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report