The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 249 emergency incidents during the month of August 2006 including 32 Box Alarms and 217 Still Alarms.
The most serious incident during August was the 4-alarm fire that heavily damaged a home at 7 Shumway Circle at 5:26 AM on the morning of August 24th. Mutual aid from 11 communities was needed to assist the Wakefield Fire Department in a very difficult and stubborn fire that started accidentally on the kitchen stove and spread rapidly inside the walls and ceilings of the 100+ year old home. A smoke detector is credited with saving the family of 4 at home at the time of the fire. Fortunately there were no injuries reported to the family or the some 50 firefighters who fought this dangerous fire.
The fire department responded to 4 mutual aid requests during August, including Melrose (1), Reading (1), Lynnfield (1), and Saugus (1). The department received mutual aid from 11 communities in August, all to assist in battling the 4-alarm fire on Shumway Circle and including Stoneham, Reading, Lynnfield, Melrose, North Reading, Woburn, Winchester, Middleton, Malden, Wilmington and Burlington.
During August the department conducted quarterly inspections of lodging houses, hotels and nursing homes, conducted pre-opening inspections of all school facilities, and participated in another very successful “Common Ground” public safety day on the Common on August 19th. This was the 10th annual Common Ground event that is sponsored by the Wakefield-Lynnfield Lodge of Elks and we thank the Elks for their support of this very popular and successful event.
On August 25th the department participated in the funeral of retired Fire Captain Charles C. Curran, who passed away on August 22, 2006 at the age of 80. Captain Curran, a decorated WW II veteran, served the Town of Wakefield and the fire department for 45 years.
Training activities during August included:
- Incident Command System (ICS 100 and 200)
- Use of the Avon Rubber rescue boat in Crystal Lake
- Training using a vacant or soon to be demolished house on Wiley St.
