Belmont Fire Log: CO Detector Too Old To Do The Job

Gas on the street

Jan. 29 – Fire personnel arrived on a location on Horace Road a quarter past 1 p.m. for a gas leak on the street. National Grid arrived to fix the problem.

Out of date

Jan. 29 – A homeowner on Harvard Drive called Belmont Fire at 3:37 p.m. after the alarm of a new carbon monoxide detector began going off. The crew from Engine 1 could not find any elevated levels of gas. Further investigation discovered that the CO detector was manufactured in 2005 and past its effective date. The homeowner was told to purchase a new CO detector but make sure the unit is not more than half-a-decade old.

Who doesn't love the "Big Easy"?

Jan. 30 – At a quarter past 3 p.m. (that is 15:15 using the 24-hour clock), Engine 1 was sent to a driveway on Francis Street: a tyke was stuck inside a locked car and the key was inside also. The crew used its "Big Easy" lock-out kit to open the front passenger door to free the toddler. 

Transforming a neighborhood's sleep patterns

Jan 31 – It was in the dark of the morning, a little by half past 5 a.m. when the folks around Palfrey Road were startled from their sleep by a loud explosion: a transformer located up an utility pole had exploded. Turns out that a fuse blew in the unit. And then the wires began sparking and arcing. The Belmont Municipal Light Department was called and the fire department stood by until a line crew arrived. 

Tree, meet house

Jan 31 – About 45 minutes after being called to the transformer explosion, fire crews were sent to Pequosette Road after a tree fell onto the roof of a nearby house due to the stormy weather passing through town. The Engine 2 crew climbed into the attic with buckets to catch the rain. The town's building inspector showed up soon afterwards. 

Where there's smoke, there's control

Feb. 1 – All of Belmont Fire's companies – both engines, the ladder, ambulance and command cars – raced over to a two-family at Creeley Road at Winslow Road. after calls came into fire dispatch by residents reporting excessive smoke coming from the house. When the crews arrived, sure enough, a lot of smoke was coming out of the main chimney raising the firefighter's concern. Knocking on the door, Engine 1 investigated and found the homeowner had started "a controlled fire in the fireplace."