July 2025

The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 405 emergency incidents during the month of July 2025 including 40 box alarms and 365 still alarms. The department responded to six requests for mutual aid during July, five times to Reading and once to Melrose. The department received mutual aid three times during July, once each from Lynnfield, Reading and Stoneham. A crew from Engine 1 under the direction of Lieutenant Cliff Silva assisted the Reading Fire Department at the scene of a 3-alarm fire at 194 Summer Street during the early morning of July 9.

The department continues to support Wakefield Firefighter Marnie Sheeran while she
continues her battle with cancer. Marnie participated in a number of interviews with local news station WBZ, focusing on the importance of cancer screening made available to firefighters by the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts and testing company United Diagnostics. Cancer screening is vitally important to the early detection of cancer. Early detection is critical to cancer treatment and survivability. The department will be hosting a cancer screening at Wakefield Fire Headquarters during the week of August 25.

Wakefield Firefighters Christopher Curran and James DeMartino have resigned from the
Wakefield Fire Department effective on July 7. Both firefighters have accepted positions as firefighters with the Massport Fire Department. Firefighter Curran was appointed to the Wakefield Fire Department on March 25, 2010. He holds several certifications including Firefighter I/II and Fire Officer II. Curran was a member of the department’s Fire Investigation Team and was a Massachusetts Registered Emergency Medical Technician. Firefighter DeMartino was appointed to the Wakefield Fire Department on December 21, 2015. He holds a Firefighter I/II Certification and is also a Certified Paramedic. Both Chris and James were excellent and well-respected firefighters and the department wishes them well in their new positions with the Massport Fire Department.

Wakefield Firefighters led by Captain Paul Pronco assisted in the search for a missing
woman during the early evening of July 14. The woman was reported to be in labor and in need of medical attention. Department members from Engines 1 and 2 assisted Wakefield Police, Saugus Fire and Police and the Massachusetts State Police, including the use of a helicopter. All areas in and around Castle Rock were searched thoroughly, turning up no trace of the woman. The search was eventually called off after several hours after no one in distress could be located.

Wakefield Firefighters under the command of Captain John Walsh responded to a report of a house fire at 78 Cedar Street during the afternoon of July 29. On arrival, firefighters found a small fire extinguished on the front porch of the multi-family residence. They checked the front wall and porch area finding no evidence of any fire extension. The cause of the fire was determined to be the careless disposal of smoking materials. A much more serious fire was averted thanks to the actions of a neighborhood postal carrier, who brought the fire to the attention of a neighbor, who in turn reported it via 911.

Department members participated in Emergency Medical Technician training classes as
part of their annual continuing education requirements during July. Several groups began training with the new fire boat purchased as part of the Capital Outlay budget for the Wakefield Fire Department. The department drilled on the proper use of a new Stokes rescue stretcher, to be used along with the department’s new UTV. A committee was formed to develop specifications for the new fire pumper funded by Town Meeting in May. The committee met three times in July, reviewing the plans from the last pumper and making recommendations and alterations for the new one. The Regional Service Pro office donated a pallet of bottled water to the department on July 22, helping to ensure that department members remain hydrated during the hot summer weather.

The department participated in the town’s Fourth of July parade and kept a close watch
over the day’s festivities. Children attending the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office Youth Public Safety Academy visited the Public Safety Building on July summer camp at the Americal Civic Center sponsored by the Wakefield Police Department on July 23.

Incident Response Report

Fire Prevention Report