April 2017

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 269 emergency incidents during the month of April including 26 box alarms and 243 still alarms.

The department responded to three requests for mutual aid during April, once each to Melrose, Saugus and Stoneham. It received mutual aid five times during the month of April, three times from Reading and twice from Stoneham. A crew from Engine 2 led by Lieutenant Joseph Albert assisted the Stoneham Fire Department at the DPW yard on Pine Street in that community during the afternoon of April 16. A nearby brush fire that had extended within close proximity to several buildings in this facility was quickly extinguished. Firefighters under Lieutenant Sean Curran assisted the Saugus Fire department at the scene of a 2-alarm fire at 24 Hurd Avenue in Saugus during the morning of April 21.

Firefighters under the command of Acting Captain Robert Taggart responded to a reported house fire at 90 Myrtle Avenue during the evening of April 7. Firefighters were initially dispatched to the Renwick Road area before police redirected them to Myrtle Avenue. First arriving firefighters encountered a fire on the rear wall of the residence rapidly extending into a three season porch. The fire was quickly contained to this area but caused considerable smoke damage throughout the residence. The three occupants of the home were displaced until repairs could be made. The cause of the fire appeared to be an arcing electrical cord that was damaged when it was caught between a bulkhead door and its framing. There were no injuries to any of the responding firefighters or residents. The Stoneham Fire Department assisted at the fire scene while a Reading fire engine covered fire headquarters.

All department duty shifts reviewed standard operating procedures on pressure testing of fire hose. The department’s entire inventory of fire hose was tested during the month of April. All Lieutenants in the department were trained to the Incident Command System ICS 300 level during April. All department Captains will be certified to the ICS 400 level by the end of June. The department participated along with Action Ambulance in an active shooter drill at the Northeast Regional Vocational School on Hemlock Road during the afternoon of April 19 and 20. This drill, organized by the Wakefield Police Department, was designed to allow police, fire and Action Ambulance personnel to coordinate their duties and responsibilities should an incident of this type occur in Wakefield. The drill was informative and will provide the basis for a future standard operating guideline to be used by the department for this type of incident. All department members are in the process of completing on-line Crowd Manager training sponsored by the Department of Fire Services (DFS) designed to increase fire safety at events involving large audiences. Department members are also taking another on-line class in April offered by DFS regarding working on fire details involve the use of blasting agents.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report