January 2025

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 404 emergency incidents during the month of January 2025 including 39 box alarms and 365 still alarms. The department responded to eight requests for mutual aid during January, three times to Lynnfield, twice to Stoneham and once each to Reading, Stoneham and Woburn. The department received mutual aid four times during January, three times from Lynnfield and once from Reading. A crew from Engine 1 led by Lieutenant Arthur Fennelly responded to Camp Curtis Guild during the evening of January 9 to stand-by for the Medflight helicopter during a serious accident on the route 129 rotary requiring a response from both the Reading and Wakefield Fire Departments. Firefighters from Engine 2 under the command of Lieutenant John Mercurio assisted the Saugus Fire Department at the scene of a structure fire at 88 Great Woods Road during the afternoon of January 18. Lt. Cliff Silva and a crew from Engine 1 covered a vacant Woburn fire station during a 2-alarm fire in that City during the afternoon of January 21. A crew from Engine 1 led by Lieutenant Daniel Hancock covered a vacant Lynnfield fire station during a structure fire in that community during the evening of January 30.

Firefighters under the command of Captain Brian Purcell responded to the Route 129 rotary to assist the Reading Fire Department at the scene of a motor vehicle crash and extrication during the evening of January 9. Wakefield firefighters had already been dispatched to Route 95 South near Exit 58 for a report of a man slumped over his steering wheel. Finding nothing, responding units were notified by radio that the Reading Fire department was working to extricate a male driver who had rolled his vehicle multiple times on the rotary. The male operator was trapped under the dashboard, requiring the use of hydraulic rescue tools to free him. Wakefield firefighters assisted the Reading firefighters extricate the trapped occupant. A foam line was deployed to cover the rescue crew as the vehicle was leaking gasoline. Working together, firefighters from both departments quickly removed the trapped occupant. He was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Wakefield Firefighter Jake Dennen graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Recruit Training Class 327 on January 31, 2025 after completing a 50-day training program. Dennen is a veteran with the United States Marine Corps. He will be assigned to Group 3 under Captain Walsh. The department welcomes Firefighter Dennen and wishes him a long and productive career in the fire service.

The department was awarded $18,916 from a Fiscal Year 2025 Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. This award will provide 100% of the funding for three vehicle rescue stabilization struts, two chain saws for opening roofs during structure fires, one thermal imaging camera, and one set of cribbing blocks used in conjunction with the department’s compliment of hydraulic rescue tools. This equipment is badly needed to replace worn-out equipment presently being used by the department.

Department members participated in Emergency Medical Technician training classes as part of their annual continuing education requirements. All groups participated in training evolutions regarding ice/water rescues.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report