August 2018

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 308 emergency incidents during the month of August including 31 box alarms and 277 still alarms.

The department responded to two requests for mutual aid during August, once each to Lynnfield and Melrose. It received mutual aid three times in August, once each from Melrose, Reading and Stoneham.

Firefighters under the command of Captain Randy Hudson responded to a reported vehicle fire on Route 95 south near the off ramp to Exit 39 during the afternoon of August 31. Firefighters found a pick-up truck that had crashed off of the highway and landed in the nearby woods. The truck was fully involved and required several tanks of water as well as the use of firefighting foam to extinguish. The Reading Fire Department assisted with the extinguishment of this fire and also treated and transported the vehicle operator to an area hospital. Remarkably the driver was not seriously injured.

The same group of firefighters responded to a significant natural gas leak in the area of 910 Main Street during the evening of August 31. Firefighters working with members of the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department quickly discovered a leak in an underground gas line owned by National Grid. Department members gained entry to numerous buildings in the vicinity of the leak to check for natural gas. Fortunately no dangerous levels of natural gas were found inside any of these buildings and the situation was handled by employees from National Grid.

The Fire Prevention Bureau continues to the monitor many construction projects in town. Renovations at the Walton School are completed with just some minor details to be completed. A final fire alarm and sprinkler inspection for the school was scheduled for September 1. With the completion of the Walton School renovation, only the Doyle School remains for public schools to be equipped with fire sprinklers, a project which has been on the capital improvement project list for several years. The construction of the 34-unit condominium building at 3 Bennet Street is progressing well, with a majority of the building’s five-story structure complete. The structural steel for the apartment building at 640 Main Street is rapidly being assembled. The remainder of the buildings at 61 Melvin Street, the site of the former Crystal Chemical Packing Company, were razed during August to make room for the construction of five townhouses. The department’s remaining duty groups completed a joint training with the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department conducted by the Northeast Public Power Association on electrical safety around high voltage facilities during the Month of August.

A group of children taking part in the summer school program at the Galvin Middle School toured the police and fire stations at the Public Safety Building on August 1.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report