April 2022

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 350 emergency incidents during the month of April including 37 box alarms and 313 still alarms. The department responded to three requests for mutual aid during April, once each to Lynn, Stoneham and Woburn. The department received mutual aid fourteen times during the month of April, three times from Reading, twice each from Lynnfield, Malden and Melrose and once each from Saugus, Stoneham, North Reading, Wilmington and Woburn. A crew from Engine 5 led by Lieutenant Michael Long covered a vacant Lynn fire station during a 5-alarm fire in that city on the afternoon of April 2. Acting Lieutenant Gerald Sancinito and a crew from Engine 1 covered a vacant Woburn fire station during a 2-alarm fire in that city during the early morning of April 16.

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to what would be its first multiple alarm fire of 2022 during the evening of April 18. Firefighters under the command of Captain Randy Hudson responded at 9:48 P.M. to a report of smoke coming from the Pizza Express Restaurant, located at 191 Albion Street. Firefighters arrived to find heavy dark smoke pouring from the building. The fire was extending out of a rear window as well as above the dropped ceiling of the restaurant, coming from the direction of the kitchen. Visibility was reduced to zero inside the restaurant as the ceiling started to collapse. Captain Hudson ordered a second alarm at 9:58 P.M. bringing engine companies from Melrose, Reading and Stoneham as well as a North Reading Ladder truck to the scene. Firefighters entered the Seven-Eleven convenient store, part of the same building, to check on the fire wall separating the two businesses. They found that the fire wall operated as designed, keeping the fire from extending into that section of the building. The heavy fire was quickly knocked down inside the restaurant as crews worked to pull down dropped ceilings. Deputy Chief Thomas Purcell arrived and took charge of fire operations with Chief Sullivan assuming overall command of the incident. Chief Sullivan ordered a third alarm at 10:18 P.M. for additional personnel, bringing engine companies from Saugus and Woburn as well as a Lynnfield tower ladder to the scene. The remaining fire was extinguished by approximately 11 P.M. The fire gutted the restaurant, causing well over $300,000 in damage. Troopers from the State Fire Marshal’s Office were summoned to the scene to assist local investigators in determining the cause and origin of the fire. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation but appears to have started inside a work area near the kitchen. Three firefighters were injured as a result of the fire. A Malden engine and ladder company and a Wilmington Engine covered Wakefield Fire Headquarters during this incident. Captain Hudson and his crews were instrumental in keeping the fire from extending to adjoining properties, preventing a significantly larger fire.

All groups conducted training evolutions at the Hurd School during April including the proper operation of ground ladders. All groups continued to conduct training to maintain their Emergency Medical Technician certificates. Department members continued their annual in-service business inspections of commercial properties. All schools, nursing homes, boarding houses and hotels received quarterly inspections as well. The department’s semi-automatic defibrillators were inspected and serviced during April. The department participated in a training class on proper procedures related to utilizing the Medflight helicopter on April 27. A Medflight helicopter landed at Veteran’s Field during this class, giving firefighters from several communities the opportunity to examine the aircraft up close. The department started its annual testing of all its fire hoses on April 30. The return of warm weather to the region allowed the department to start conducting its Spring fire drills, which will be completed during the month of May.

Department members participated in an Honor Guard during the wake and funeral for retired Wakefield Firefighter Thomas A. Crusco on April 25 and 26. Firefighter Crusco was a respected firefighter in the department, serving more than 37 years before his retirement in 1993.

The Fire Prevention Bureau, under Captain David Shinney, continues to monitor the many ongoing construction projects around Wakefield, including those at 62 Foundry Street, Hopkins Street, 581 Salem Street and 259 Water Street. The most challenging construction project has proven to be the renovation of the Public Safety Building, which commenced on April 6. Operating a fully functional fire station during heavy renovations has provided many problems and challenges for the department, including elevated noise levels and dust containment. The department is committed to working thru these construction issues and looks forward to its completion in the Spring of 2023.

The department kept a close eye on a very large baby shower, held at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel on Audubon Road on April 8-9. This event involved the erection of a large outside structure in the hotel’s parking lot that was big enough to house the 560 shower participants. The Wakefield Independence Day Committee also sponsored the return of its annual carnival at the Galvin Middle School during school vacation week, April 20-24. The carnival is an important fundraiser for the committee and appeared to have benefitted by the relatively good weather that prevailed that week.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report