Fire Log: Hurricane Sally Leaves a Mess

Candle burning bright and melting

Oct. 29 – At two minutes before 1 p.m., Engine 2 and Ladder 1 were sent to lower Washington Street after a fire alarm was struck inside a single family. The crew from Engine 2 went inside and discovered the owner had accidental left a wax candle on top of a wood-burning stove that is located in the kitchen. The candle melted when the stove was fired up and the fumes caused the smoke detector to go off. The owner had reset the alarm and aired out the place before the firefighters arrived. 

Tree, meet house

Oct. 29 – Just before 2 p.m., Engine 1 was dispatched to a Dante Avenue two-family dwelling for the first of a slew of storm related incidents. A large branch had fallen off a tree and was now leaning on electrical wires which caused the cautious homeowner and family to seek shelter in a neighbor's house. The Engine 1 crew promptly disconnected the main power to the house. Soon after, Belmont Municipal Light and the town's Highway departments arrived on the scene with Light department personnel disconnected the power to the power line. The Building Inspector also respond to the scene.

So many trees

Oct. 29 – At the height of Sally's visit, just after 3 p.m., Engine 1 was dispatched to Grove Street – which it was already on for another call – for a tree falling onto a house. The homeowner said a tree on his property fell on the structure, nothing appeared to be damaged. The building inspector made a house call and the homeowner said he would contact a tree removal company.

Ten minutes later, Engine 2 was sent to a single-family Dalton Road dwelling for another tree toppling over onto a house. Only minor damage to the outside. The BFD requested the Highway Department and Building Inspector respond to the scene.

Sally help discovered clutter condition

Oct. 29 – Just before 4 p.m., Engine 3 headed over to Cushing Avenue for yet another tree/house collision, this time with a two-family. The tree was really only leaning on the structure and there was no apparent outside damage. But while there, the crew discovered a large amount of "clutter" in the first-floor apartment, so much so that they determined it was a a potential health and fire
hazard. The commander on the scene told the tenant the stuff had to go and requested the Belmont Health Department and the landlord to do a follow up inspection.

Hole in one

Oct. 30 – At nearly 6:30 p.m., fire crews were sent to a Selwyn Road house to investigate all this water in the house. Turns out that a tree speared the roof creating a hole. The continuous rain sent water off the roof and into the structure, finally flowing out the light fixtures on the second floor. The main circuit breaker was shut off as the mixture of electricity and water can provide a serious shock to anyone in the area. Belmont Municipal Light Department came by to handle the problem.

Sparking attention

Nov. 2 – A just about a quarter past 9 p.m., Engine 2 came to a stop outside a lower Washington Street as a call came in concerning flames leaping from a primary power line onto the branch of a nearby tree limb. This was more a job for the Light Department. Residents were told to stay clear of the area, a request that would appear to be common sense.

No one to call

Nov. 3 – Early in the morning, just after 3 a.m., a fire alarm was sounding at a Belmont Center restaurant on Leonard Street. Restaurants, with heating sources and combustibles on site, are always potential locations for flare-ups. Engine 2 and Ladder 1 arrived and came to find that the keys set aside for emergencies just like these didn't work. Since there was no evidence of smoke or flames, the department called the landlord's representative to come to the scene. At the same time, the fire dispatcher could not raise the alarm company and didn't have an off-hours contact number. All the fire department could do was call another store owner near the restaurant to see if he had a contact number and place a sign on the door to get their alarm repaired because it was now "red tagged."