July 2023

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 378 emergency incidents during the month of July 2023 including 34 box alarms and 344 still alarms. The department responded to three requests for mutual aid during July, once each to Groveland, Reading and Swampscott. The department received mutual aid four times during July, twice each from Lynnfield and Reading. A crew from Engine 1 led by Lt. Cliff Silva covered Reading Fire Headquarters while firefighters from that community were tied up at a structure fire during the early evening of July 9. Lt. Steve Bivens, a member of the Northeast Technical Rescue Team, responded with other team members on July 17 to Aggregate Industries, 30 Danvers Road in Swampscott, to assist in the recovery of the body of a construction worker from inside a pit after an industrial accident. Lt. Bivens responded for a second time in July to another incident requiring a response of the Northeast Technical Rescue Team on July 24. The team was called out to 1 Nichols Way in Groveland after a vehicle had driven into an assisted living facility at that location. The team assisted the local building inspector in determining whether or not the building was still structurally sound. The building was determined to be safe to re-occupy and the vehicle was removed from the building. The team was then released from the scene. The Northeast Technical Rescue Team is comprised completely of municipal firefighters from throughout the area who have received specialized training in technical rescue. Their training is subsidized by state funding.

Firefighters under the command of Captain Randy Hudson responded to a reported truck accident at approximately 4:30 A.M. July 27. Crews arrived on scene to find an 18-wheel tractor-trailer truck on its side blocking most of the northbound lanes of Route 95 between the Hopkins Street bridge and the North Avenue exit. The driver was not hurt in the accident. The truck was carrying a cargo of metal parts which fortunately posed no hazard to either people or the environment. A small amount of spilled diesel fuel was cleaned up and also posed no threat to the surrounding area. Fire apparatus protected the scene until a large tow truck capable of lifting the truck could be brought to the scene. The last units cleared the scene at 7:20 A.M. and all lanes of the highway were re-opened to traffic.

All groups participated in Emergency Medical Technician training classes, trained with the department’s two fire boats, and conducted annual business fire safety inspections during July. All protective gear used by department members was inspected and prioritized for repair or replacement as needed. Every member of the department is issued two sets of personnel protective
gear so that department members can wash or repair gear exposed to smoke and fire or dangerous chemicals in an effort to reduce their exposure to possible carcinogens that may be present in dirty protective gear. The department participated and monitored events involving the popular Fourth of July celebration occurring in Wakefield. A crew from Engine 1 gave a demonstration to children participating in the Middlesex Sheriff’s Public Safety Youth Academy on July 12 at Nasella Playground. Firefighters from Engine 1 visited children participating in Camp Wakefield on July 26.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report