January 2024

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 396 emergency incidents during the month of January 2024 including 29 box alarms and 367 still alarms. The department responded to four requests for mutual aid during January, once each to Byfield, Melrose, Saugus and Woburn. The department received mutual aid once during January from Reading. A crew from Engine 2 led by Lieutenant John Mercurio responded to a structure fire at 45 Serino Way in Saugus during the evening of January 5. Lt. Arthur Fennelly and a crew from Engine 1 covered a vacant Woburn fire station during a 2-alarm structure fire in that community during the early morning of January 6. A crew from Engine 2 under the command of Lieutenant Sean Curran assisted the Melrose Fire Department at the scene of a 2-alarm fire at 25 Farwell Avenue during the evening of January 11. Captain Paul Pronco was deployed to 11 Forest Street in Byfield along with the Northeast Massachusetts Technical Rescue Team after an adult male fell into a fast-moving river at that location. Sadly, the man drowned in the river and his body was recovered by this technical rescue team, the Beverly Fire Department Dive Team and the Byfield Fire Department.

Firefighters under the command of Captain John Walsh responded to a reported fire involving a laptop at 44 Bartley Street at 10:15 P.M. on January 30. Firefighters arrived within 2 minutes to find a lap-top computer with a lithium battery that had been extinguished by an occupant using a fire extinguisher. The battery had malfunctioned and overheated to the point where it melted the laptop. Fortunately, the fire did not extend beyond the laptop or the chair that it was resting on. The residence was vented of smoke and the damaged chair and laptop were removed from the home. The occupants were able to remain in the home after the incident.

Captain Walsh led another group of firefighters that were dispatched to a serious car accident at 51 New Salem Street on the evening of January 15. Firefighters found a single car on its roof with two trapped occupants. The vehicle was stabilized and the driver’s side front and rear door were forced open using a hydraulic cutter and spreader (jaws of life). One occupant was transported to Lahey Burlington with non-life-threatening injuries while the other occupant refused transport to a hospital.

New Year’s Day proved to be an interesting morning for the crew of Ladder 1 as they were called out to assist a large owl found in distress in a tree near the intersection of Main and Lawrence Streets. The owl had become entangled in fishing line high up in the tree. Lieutenant Gary Hill climbed the aerial of Ladder1, and with the assistance of a wildlife expert, successfully rescued the bird using a Sawzall and wire cutters. The owl was transported to an area wildlife rehabilitation facility, where it is expected to make a full recovery.

All groups participated in Emergency Medical Technician training classes. The department participated in a live fire training exercise with the Lynnfield Fire Department on January 13. The exercise involved the intentional burning of a donated single-family residence. Department members enjoyed the opportunity to work side by side with their mutual aid partners.

All groups conducted ice rescue drills in January utilizing the department’s survival suits and rescue ropes. Several groups conducted bail out drills using the department self-rescue rope repelling kits. All groups conducted walk-throughs of the new residential facility at 89 to 95 Hopkins Street that is nearing completion. Two groups of girl scouts and a third group of cub scouts all visited fire headquarters during January.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report