August 2017

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 339 emergency incidents during the month of August including 37 box alarms and 302 still alarms.

The department responded to four requests for mutual aid during August, once each to Lynnfield, Peabody, Reading and Stoneham. It received mutual aid fourteen times during August, three times each from Lynnfield, Melrose and Reading, twice from North Reading and Stoneham and once from Woburn. A crew from Engine 2 led by Lieutenant Michael Long covered a vacant Stoneham fire station during an incident in that community during the early evening of August 4. Lt. Phil Preston and a crew from Engine 1 covered Reading Fire Headquarters during the afternoon of August 9 when a natural gas leak tied up Reading Fire crews. Lt. Michael Long and Firefighter Steven Bivens responded to the scene of a wall collapse at 327 Lowell Street in Peabody during the early evening of August 28 as part of a response from the Northeast Massachusetts Technical Rescue Team. The team worked to recover the body of an adult male who was killed when a retaining wall collapsed on him.

Firefighters under the command of Captain Christopher Smith responded to a reported structure fire in an electrical contracting warehouse at 7 Hart Street during the morning of August 9. Crews arrived to find heavy smoke pouring from the building. Entry was quickly gained to the structure but extremely heavy smoke conditions initially hampered firefighters in their attempt to locate the fire. A second alarm was struck for manpower bringing crews from Melrose, North Reading, Reading and Stoneham to the scene. The fire was located and contained to an area at the rear of the second floor. The wooden flooring and adjacent floor supports in this area sustained significant fire damage with the remainder of the building sustaining smoke damage. The building is still structurally sound and can be repaired. An investigation determined the cause to be the collapse of temporary construction lighting which subsequently ignited the wooden flooring under it. There were no injuries as a result of this incident. A Woburn Engine and a Lynnfield ladder truck covered Wakefield Fire Headquarters during the fire.

Firefighter under Captain Brian Purcell responded to a reported structure fire at Colonial Point Apartments at 95 Audubon Road during the evening of August 15. Crews encountered a fire in the building’s main electrical room creating a smoke condition in the area and several upper floors as smoke made its way up the elevator shaft. The Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department quickly responded and killed power to the building, allowing firefighters to extinguish the fire. Many occupants of the 176-unit apartment building evacuated to the parking lot while electricians called to the scene by the property owner made emergency repairs to the electrical system. Additional firefighters from Lynnfield, Reading and Stoneham and units from Action Ambulance were called to the scene to help triage any occupants with medical needs and assist them in evacuating the building. The Wakefield Police Department responded to the scene and assisted with crowd control as the parking area was congested with several hundred residents from the complex. The Red Cross responded to the scene to provide food and water to the occupants and volunteers from Rahab 5 provided drinks and snacks for first responders. Power was eventually restored to the building after several hours. There were no injuries as a result of this fire and the occupants were able to remain in the complex, preventing the need to open an emergency shelter. Excellent cooperation between firefighters, police officers, paramedics, light department employees and the owner’s electrical contractors resulted in the rapid control of a dangerous situation that could have easily displaced hundreds of residents for an extended period.

The department’s new 1250 gallon-per-minute pumper was placed into service on August 8 as Engine 1 at fire headquarters in the Public Safety Building and immediately played an instrumental role in extinguishing the multiple alarm fire on Hart Street the next day. It has been named the Lucius Beebe Number 1 in honor of the town’s first engine 1 that was in service with the town from 1882 to 1907. The present engine 1 will be renumbered to engine 5 and used as a ready reserve engine at fire headquarters.

All four groups conducted training including roof cutting operations at 28 Sweetser Street from August 3-6 shortly before the building was demolished. All four groups participated in a class on Engine Company Operations conducted by an outside vendor from August 15-18. A group of youths participating in a summer camp sponsored by the Wakefield and Stoneham Police Departments visited Wakefield Fire Headquarters on August 17 and 24.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report