The Wakefield Fire Department responded to 223 emergency incidents during the month of March 2009 including 33 Box Alarms and 190 Still Alarms.
The Department responded to 7 mutual aid requests during March, including three to Melrose, two to Saugus, one to Lynnfield and one to Stoneham. The department received mutual aid one time in March from Stoneham.
The Department conducted ice rescue drills on Lake Quannapowitt as the winter ice pack broke up. Additional training included procedures for rescuing downed firefighters trapped in buildings. All nursing homes, schools, hotels, and boarding homes received a quarterly fire inspection during the month of March.
The Department responded to a serious car accident on Route 95 south at the 129 rotary during the early morning hours of March 1st. Sadly, one of the vehicle occupants was ejected from the car and lost his life. Firefighters under the command of captain David Myette extinguished a garage fire on Millbrook Lane on March 7th. The fire was contained to the immediate area of origin in the garage but caused considerable smoke damage throughout the home. The cause of the fire was determined to be hot ashes improperly stored in plastic containers. A dryer fire on March 9th at 98 Woodland Avenue was extinguished quickly by firefighters under the command of Lieutenant Steven Kessel. This fire appears to have been caused by an accumulation of lint inside the dryer housing. This fire was contained to the dryer with significant smoke damage throughout the home. A second serious car accident occurred on Route 95 southbound at the Liberty Chevrolet dealership when a vehicle left the highway, rolling several times before striking a light pole and damaging several cars parked in the lot of the dealership. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in this accident.
Wakefield Engine 2, stationed at the greenwood fire station, responded to two serious out of town fires during the month of March. On March 25th, Firefighter Joseph Albert, assisted by Firefighter Joseph Nee and Lieutenant Steven Kessel, successfully rescued a dog from on the second floor of a burning Melrose home in zero visibility conditions with the help of a thermal imaging camera. The dog was removed from the building and successfully resuscitated. Engine 2 and its crew of Lieutenant Steven Kessel, Firefighter Phil Rogers, and Firefighter Richard Cardavelli Jr. was again called into action at a house fire in Saugus on March 26th.
