Fire Log: Doggone It, Get Me Out Of Here

I can't get out!

Nov. 25 – At half past 10 in the morning, firefighters went to a Hawthorne Street address to get a resident out who had locked themselves into their condo. It happens. 

An afternoon activity involving open flame

Nov. 25 – Just a minute before 1 p.m., Engine 2 was dispatched to a Raleigh Road home for a reported outdoor fire. Turns out the homeowner was burning a good supply of wood in a "chiminia" in the back yard. The chiminia – it's a freestanding front-loading fireplace or oven with a bulbous body and usually a vertical smoke vent – was also in rather close proximity to the neighbor's garage so the firefighters asked the resident to extinguish the fire which he did so with some water prior to the BFD's departure. He was also informed of the rule concerning no outside burning in Belmont. 

Cooking alarm

Nov. 26 – At a quarter to 6 p.m., Engine 1 and 2, were sent to a multifamily on Trapelo Road for fire alarms going off inside the building. Engine 1's crew reported a cooking fire that was confined to the kitchen on a second-floor apartment. But it soon became apparent that the fire alarm system was on the fritz.  A member of the town's housing authority arrived on and the system red tagged.

I can't get out! Arf!

Nov. 27 – Ten minutes before 10 a.m., Engine 1 was sent to Harding Avenue for a desperate situation. The person who called was upset; apparently they were dog sitting for a pet whose owners were away on vacation. For whatever reason, as the care taker was opening the door, the deadbolt accidentally tripped shut and they didn't have a key for that lock. And unlike a cat, that dog needed to be taken for his walk. The firefighters soon pulled the cylinder for the deadbolt and, Voilà!, the door opened and the dog was freed. There was minimal damage done to the door and it could still be secured with the other lock. Police hung around to make sure the sitter could open the door.

The dog didn't have one either

Nov. 27 – Just past 11:30 a.m., firefighters were sent to Vernon Road due to a smoke detector going off. They arrived to find a dog sitter – yes, two in one hour! – who said they did not have a battery to replace the faulty battery in the detector. Firefighters solved that problem by removing the entire detector. The other detectors were still working fine.

One minute, 30 seconds

Nov. 27 – A few minutes past 10:30 p.m., Engine 1 rumbled into McLean Hospital for a smokey situation; a resident didn't read the instructions and burnt the popcorn inside the microwave in the second-floor kitchen.

A small one

Dec. 1 – Just after 9:30 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to Clifton Street for a minor gas leak in the roadway.