Belmont Fire Log: An Oil Leak, A House Break In, A Health Concern All in One

July 30 – About a quarter past 7 p.m., Engine 2 was sent to Juniper Road for a report of smoke coming from behind the homes. And it was fairly-good smelling smoke as it was coming from a charcoal grill cooking barbecue. Yum!

Not a neighborly thing to do
Aug. 1 – Just before 7 p.m., Engine 1 was sent to Hawthorne Street to investigate a reported outside fire. Turned out neighbors extinguish a fire at the base of a traffic sign post, one of those standard metal posts with multiple pre-existing vent holes. The firefighters saw scorch marks and burnt paper that went up about six-inches from the base of the pole. The Engine 1 crew used a standard fire extinguisher to cool the area inside and around the pole.

Turns out that the neighbors had a good hunch on how the blaze started: they told the firefighters that another "neighbor" is frequently seen smoking around the pole where he discards his butts and may have accidentally caused the fire. A fire official spoke with the neighbor in question and he denied causing a fire. While they were there, fire personnel told the occupants of one of the two-families on Hawthorne to remove two propane cylinders and one two-gallon gasoline container from beneath the outside wooden porch; not a great place for combustible material.

Early-morning cooking leads to gas
Aug. 2 – Really early in the morning, just before 4 a.m., the first-floor occupants of a Worcester Street two family called the fire dispatcher as their CO detectors went off. Appears that they were cooking (at 4 a.m.!) when the alarm started.  Sure enough, the crew from Engine 1 reported readings of 100 parts-per-million by their detector. The upstairs neighbors were evacuated and the Rescue company evaluated both set of occupants for possible CO exposure. Turns out the stove was the source of the gas leak. Firefighters called the gas company and the department's Ladder truck to the scene. Fire companies vented the first and second floors along with the Ladder's smoke ejector. After several minutes, the crews reported normal readings on all floors. The first-floor stove was "red tagged" and needed to be serviced. 

A leak, a break-in, a rough few days
Aug. 2 – A quarter past 4 p.m., the fire department responded to a request from the Mass Department of Environmental Protection to the basement of a house on Clyde Street for a fuel oil spill. Once there, personnel from Engine 1 noticed a strong odor of home heating oil coming from the home. Turned out that a 275-gallon oil tank was completely empty. Already most of the basement floor was covered with SpeedyDry along with numerous boxes and wood dividers being used to wick up the oil. The second-floor tenant said it was his tank that was spouting fuel. He could smell oil the night before after 10 p.m. but he believed the odor was coming from outside. The next morning, the smell was way worse and he soon discovered the leak. He told the firefighters that the tank had been three-quarter full the last time he checked. The oil company discovered that the 3/8 steel nipple was broken between the shut-off valve and the tank causing the contents of the tank to leak out. The oil firm already made repairs, started the clean up and notified a licensed site professional to remove the mess. But what caused the break? Turns out that Belmont Police was at the address the night before to take a report of a house break that occurred last evening sometime between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. And just to make this incident even worse for the tenants, the Belmont Health Department told that occupants they could not stay in the home until it is deemed safe by the clean-up pros. 

A lot like Wrigley Field
Aug. 3 – A quarter 'til 6 p.m., Engine 2 was sent to Pequosette Road to help a homeowner who was locked out of her house and after she could not find her extra set of "hidden" keys she had secretly placed in the ivy around her abode. But, success!; the firefighters found the keys and the homeowner was able to enter her home.