April 2023

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 378 emergency incidents during the month of April 2023 including 42 box alarms and 336 still alarms. The department responded to four requests for mutual aid during April, twice to North Reading and once each to Lynnfield and Saugus. The department received mutual aid ten times during the month of April, three times from Reading, twice from Stoneham and once each from Lynnfield, Melrose, North Reading, Saugus and Woburn. A crew from Engine 2 under the direction of Lieutenant Michael Long assisted the Saugus Fire Department at the scene of a structure fire at 29 Saunders Drive during the afternoon of April 5. A crew from Engine 1 led by Lieutenant Cliff Silva covered the North Reading Fire Headquarters during a garage fire in that community on the afternoon of April 12. A crew from Engine 5 under the command of Lieutenant Cliff Silva assisted the North Reading fire department at the scene of a 2-alarm fire at 14 Cold Spring Road during the afternoon of April 23.

Firefighters under the command of Captain John Walsh responded to an alarm activation at approximately 6:06 A.M. at 365 Audubon Road during the morning of April 20. On arrival, firefighters were informed by plant employees that there was an active fire in the rear of the building adjacent to the loading dock. The fire was burning in a storage area containing one-ton bales of shredded paper. Captain Walsh, concerned about the considerable fire load of burning materials, immediately ordered a second alarm. Engine companies from Reading, Stoneham and Melrose along with a North Reading Ladder truck responded to the scene to assist Wakefield firefighters. Firefighters deployed multiple hose lines and were able to knock the fire down fairly quickly. The bales then had to be moved outside and broken up so that they could be thoroughly wet down. The DPW was requested to the scene with a front-end loader and operator to assist in this process. The fire was contained to the shredded paper storage area and caused no structural damage to the building. Plant employees used their equipment to push the baled paper off of the loading dock to the awaiting front-end loader. A light smoke condition extended throughout the warehouse before finally dissipating. Troopers from the State Fire Marshal’s office were called in to help determine the cause of the fire. Although still under investigation, the cause is accidental, due to a probable malfunction of a ceiling-mounted appliance. The malfunctioning appliance then threw sparks onto the top of the shredded paper bales igniting the fire. There were no injuries to firefighters or plant employees as a result of the fire and the corrugated box-manufacturing plant will resume operations once a clean-up is completed. The fire gained considerable head-way due to the fact that plant employees fought it with fire extinguisher and standpipe hose lines before the alarm system activated and notified the fire department. A Saugus and Woburn engine as well as a Lynnfield tower ladder covered Wakefield Fire Headquarters during the fire.

Relatively little rain and low humidity during the first half of April created tinder dry conditions in the wooded areas around Wakefield. The department started receiving calls reporting a brush fire in the vicinity of Holland Road near Oak Street during the afternoon of April 21 and dispatched Engine 2 to investigate. Firefighters under Lieutenant Michael Long responded and soon discovered an extensive brush fire on the western side of Holland Road in a section of the town forest. The fire had gained considerable headway and Lieutenant Long requested the remainder of the on-duty shift to respond to the scene. A Stoneham engine was requested to cover Wakefield Fire Headquarters as all on-duty Wakefield firefighters were occupied fighting the fire. A second brush fire was discovered in a steep wooded area off of the end of Crosby Road. The Stoneham engine was requested to respond to this location to work with the Wakefield firefighters. A Reading fire engine was then requested to respond to and cover Wakefield Fire Headquarters. Altogether a total of five acres were extinguished before firefighters pulled out at dusk. Firefighters returned to the end of Crosby Road later that evening and again the next morning to extinguish several flare-ups and lingering hot spots. The cause of the two brush fires remains undetermined.
The Department’s Administrative Assistant, Anne Boodry, retired from the department after serving four years with the department and a total of 27 years with the town. Anne experienced a lot during her relatively short association with the department, including the Covid- 19 Pandemic, the line-of-duty death of Lieutenant Robert Ford and the expansion of the department from 50 to 55 members. The department wishes Anne a long and healthy retirement along with her husband Bill, her three sons Billy, Bryan and Michael, her daughter-in-law Christine and her beautiful baby grandson Beau. The department welcomes its new administrative Assistant Pam Cruciani to the department and wished her a successful and productive career with the department.

Wakefield Firefighters William Curran and Christopher Hagan graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Recruit Training Class 310 on April 28 after completing a 50-day training program. Firefighter Curran, a veteran of the United Sates Army will be assigned to Group 1 under Captain Randy Hudson. Firefighter Hagan, a veteran of the United States Marines, will be assigned to Group 4 under Captain Paul Pronco. Several department members participated in a training class held at the Lynnfield Middle School on April 29 sponsored by the Lynnfield Fire Department and the New England Fools. The informative program discussed the challenges posed by fires involving Lithium-ion batteries. Incidents involving fires in electric cars, scooters and bikes were examined in great detail. A separate class discussed the challenges posed by the new protective systems being installed in vehicles and how they affect extrication techniques in removing occupants trapped in motor vehicle wrecks. All four duty groups conducted hose and ladder evolutions on the exterior of the Greenwood School during school vacation week.

All groups participated in their Emergency Medical Technician training in April including a class on patients with severe bleeding problems. The department’s inventory of semi-automatic defibrillators received their annual maintenance checks during April. A crew from Ladder one visited with a Girl Scout Troop meeting at the Wakefield-Lynnfield Methodist Church on Vernon Street on April 7. The Easter Bunny was safely delivered to the Wakefield Common to the delight of many children on April 8.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report