Fire Log: Gasoline and Hot Surfaces Don't Mix

Did I do that?

Sept. 11 – Just past 12:30 p.m., Engine 1 and Ladder 1 were sent to the Belmont Media Center on Lexington Street after the fire alarm system activated. When the crews arrived, the fire alarm dispatcher radioed to say they received a call from the Media Center's alarm company that a technician was on scene working on the system. And the fire crews didn't find any smoke or fire at the location. It turns that the alarm was unintentional set off by that alarm technician.

Tip: gas and hot surfaces don't mix

Sept. 12 – Just before 1 p.m., Engine 2 was sent to Adams Street for a fire on a lawn. Turns out that a hot backpack leaf blower caught fire as it was being refueled. Luckily the person who decided to pore gas in a hot piece of gardening machinery was not hurt and, in fact, extinguished the fire himself by the time the engine arrived.

The NHL wasn't the only one locked out

Sept. 12 – As the church bell at the First Church, Belmont rang out 10 p.m., a fire crew was sent to Baker Street: someone locked themselves out of their house. A member of the responding crew climbed up a ladder to the second-floor window and popped it open and scrambled through. And there was no damage to the window.

Reason 425 to turn off your computer after work

Sept. 14 – Just after 9 a.m., Engine 1 and 2 along with Ladder 1 were rushed a block away to the CVS on Trapelo Road after an employee called to report a burning odor in the area of the rear office. The crew from Engine 1 went to the office and found a computer terminal overheated and emitting the burning odor. A CVS representative was advised to have the PC serviced.

The odor, did it have a chicken or steak quality?

Sept. 15 – Just past 2:30 p.m., Engine 2 was sent to a Selwyn Road house for a smokey odor at the outside of the home. Upon arrival, the homeowner reported a smell of smoke in her home that she believes was coming from the outside. The crew first checked inside – the indoor air was fine – and then looked outside. They quickly discovered the source of the smoke: the neighbor was barbecuing. The challenges of living in the suburbs.