February 2019

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 329 emergency incidents during the month of February including 44 box alarms and 285 still alarms.

The department responded to eight requests for mutual aid during February, twice each to Lynnfield, Melrose and Saugus, once each to Reading and Stoneham. It received mutual aid five times in February, twice each from Lynnfield and Reading and once from Melrose. A crew from Engine 1 under the direction of Lieutenant Daniel Hancock assisted the Lynnfield Fire Department at the scene of a 2-alarm structure fire at 527 Salem Street during the early afternoon of February 7. Firefighters under the command of Lieutenant Cliff Silva responded to a 2-alarm fire at 397 South Street in Reading during the evening of February 12. Lieutenant Phil Preston and a crew from Engine 1 covered Stoneham Fire Headquarters during a fire in that community during the early evening of February 17. Lieutenant Michael Long led a crew from Engine 2 who assisted the Saugus Fire Department at the scene of a structure fire at 2400 Founders Way during the morning of February 21. Lieutenant Michael Long led another crew of firefighters from Engine 2 assisting the Saugus Fire department at the scene of a structure fire at 41 Bennett Avenue during the evening of February 23. Firefighters from Engine 1 under the command of Lieutenant Philip Preston assisted the Lynnfield Fire Department at the scene of a fire at the Boston Sports Club during the evening of February 25.

Firefighters under the command of Captain Randy Hudson responded to a reported truck fire at 96 Audubon Road shortly after noon on February 15. Firefighters arrived to find a refrigerated box truck in the parking lot fully involved with fire spreading to adjoining box trucks of identical design. Firefighters quickly deployed several hose lines quickly knocking down the wind driven fire. Two box trucks were completely destroyed with a third suffering considerable heat and smoke damage. The cause of the fire was investigated and determined to be an electrical malfunction in the charging system that the fleet of vehicles plugged into to keep their refrigeration equipment running. An electrical short circuit ignited the first truck and the wind and close proximity of the adjoining vehicles allowed the fire to spread to the other vehicles. The fire caused an estimated dollar loss in excess of $200,000. There were no injuries as a result of the fire and no damage to the large manufacturing plant at this location.

All four duty groups conducted quarterly fire inspections of all nursing homes, schools, hotels and lodging houses during the month of February. All department members were re-certified in CPR during February. Mr. John Blaikie of Advanced Safety Systems Integrators gave a presentation to all department personnel on the new energy storage system installed at the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department substation located on Farm Street near the town line with Saugus. This new state-of-the-art technology allows power to be collected and stored during off-peak periods where it can be utilized later during periods of high demand for electricity. This system utilizes large banks of batteries designed for this purpose which require special fire extinguishing systems to protect them.

A troop of Girl Scouts visited the Greenwood Fire Station during the afternoon of February 14.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report