The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 264 emergency incidents during the month of July 2008 including 47 Box Alarms and 217 Still Alarms.
The fire department responded to 11 mutual aid requests during July, including Melrose (4), Lynn (2), Stoneham (2), Peabody (1), Lynnfield (1) and Reading (1). The department received mutual aid 1 time in July from Stoneham.
Fire Department activities during the month of July included:
- Aerial ladder tested and certified
- All portable ground ladders tested and certified
- All fire department pumpers tested and certified
- The new Jaws of Life and associated equipment were put into service
- Firefighter Timothy K. Robblee was appointed to the department effective July 7th
- Firefighters Robblee, Silva, and Mercurio began recruit training at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy starting July 7th
The department responded to a structure fire on July 16th at the Dockside Restaurant at 1099 Main Street, successfully keeping a fire in an outside wall from extending into the building. An electrical fire on the exterior of the Wells Fargo building at 1105 Main Street was also confined to the building’s exterior on July 25th. Both of these incidents occurred in the greenwood section of town a short distance from the greenwood fire station.
Engine 2, assigned to the Greenwood fire station, responded to two serious out of town fires in July rendering mutual aid to the Town of Stoneham on the evening of July 4th at a house fire on Winthrop Street and responding on July 16th to another house fire at 386 Franklin street in the city of Melrose.
A new “Jaws of Life” extrication tool and associated equipment were placed into service during the month of July. The funding for this was entirely paid for by private donations at no cost to the Town of Wakefield due to the efforts of retired Fire Chief David Parr. The following donations were made to the department this month to finish paying for this equipment: Crystal Motor Express ($1,000), Mun Su Sa Buddhist Temple ($1,000), The Wakefield Rotary Club ($500), and Metropcs ($3,000). This equipment replaced worn out and obsolete rescue tools and represents a significant improvement to the department’s overall rescue capabilities at the scene of a serious vehicle accident involving occupant entrapment. The department is once again grateful for the private support and assistance during these tough financial times.
