Photo: House destroyed by fire on Monday.
A 20-year-old man has been identified as the person killed in an early morning fire on Trapelo Road Monday, Jan. 23.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s office said Kevin Rossell was the person found by firefighters on the third floor of the two-family house at 606-608 Trapelo Rd. after a 4 a.m. three-alarm blaze destroyed the structure.
No one else was hurt in the fire that halted traffic for a short time on the busy roadway running through town.
Photo: Concern on School Street.
When Kelly Fanning heard Wednesday, Jan. 11 well-liked crossing guard James Marcantonio was hit and then hospitalized by a vehicle on School Street in front of the Burbank Elementary School, the mother of two who lives steps from the crosswalk knew it was time for the community to take action.
“[James] is a friend to everyone, he knows all the children and really looks after them,” said Fanning.
(A press release from the Belmont Police said Marcantonio suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the accident that occurred at 8:11 a.m. The driver was cited for not yielding for a person in a crosswalk.)
“If this could happen to him, it shows how dangerous the road is now,” said the mom of Reece Bundy and Mabel Fanning. “There recently have been three accidents before [Marcantonio] including another pedestrian, all happening in front of the school.”
Parents have pointed to the increase in pass-through traffic along School Street, how the crosswalk is just beyond a blind corner as traffic travels from Washington Street and the lack of traffic-calming devices leading to the crosswalk.
“I know that the town knows the yellow [warning] lights don’t work. It’s just another thing that lets drivers not pay attention to the crosswalk,” said Jimmy Busa, who was standing in for his fellow crossing guard.
Later Wednesday, Fanning and her husband, Red Bundy, began mobilizing their social media contacts to bring together parents, students and residents to demonstrate Thursday morning before school in support of better safety leading in both directions to the crosswalk.
“There are several things the town can do including put a curb along [the south side of] School Street up to the crosswalk and raise the crosswalk,” said Randolph Street’s Peter Dizikes, a parent, and a Precinct 1 Town Meeting member.
On a cloudy, chilly Thursday morning, Fanning brought colored poster board and Sharpies for students and parents to write out signs.
“Ten parents sent back messages that they would attend,” said Fanning. “That would be a good start.”
Soon, parents walking students to school came by and joined the growing numbers who carried signs – “Stay Alert and Slow Down” and “Kids Crossing” – and brought their voices and even cowbells (“More cowbells” advised one parent to the students ringing away).
By the beginning of the school day, more than 60 students and residents were loudly proclaiming their support to make the roadway and crosswalk safer.
“I hope that the [town] will see that there is a lot of people who want something to happen here. This is a serious safety issue that needs to be addressed,” said Fanning.
Photo: At least it’s taking place on Saturday.
Belmont will see anywhere between six inches to a foot of snow by midnight, Sunday, Jan. 8, according to the National Weather Service.
At 11:40 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 7, the NSA issued a Winter Storm Warning that will remain in effect until 1 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8. Snow will fall moderately to heavy at times into the early evening hours before tapering off around midnight with gusty winds that could reach 35 mph.
Here are the phone numbers and information that you should keep close during the storm:
Belmont’s SNOW EMERGENCY HOTLINE: 617-993-2698.
Belmont Light’s Outage Line: 617-993-2800.
See winter storm information from the Department of Public Works: Winter Weather Brochure
Snow Removal Bylaw:
Photo: It’ll get snowy soon.
The Belmont Police has issued a Snow Emergency Parking Ban in Belmont on all roadways and municipal parking lots and schools effective at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7 until 9 a.m., Sunday, Jan. 8.
Vehicles parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense.
Residents who have any questions call the snow emergency hotline at 617-993-2698.
Photo: Trees could come falling down.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for Belmont and Eastern Massachusetts from 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29 to 6 a.m. Friday, Dec. 30, with near gale force winds buffeting the region and creating conditions that could lead to electrical outages.
The NWS is forecasting sustained winds out of the West between 10 to 20 mph with gusts reaching 50 mph with the strongest winds coming between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
Gusts have the potential of downing trees and large limbs possibly causing isolated power outages.
While a major winter storm is expected to dump up to a foot of snow in the western part of Massachusetts into Friday morning, Belmont and the Boston region should only see a few inches of the white stuff before precipitation ends late Thursday night.
Below are telephone numbers to keep at the ready during the storm:
Belmont Light (to report outages): 617-993-2800.
The Town of Belmont SNOW EMERGENCY HOTLINE: (617) 993-2698.
Unless it is an emergency, do not call 911.
Photo: (credit: Anna Meiler/CBSBoston)
Belmont’s increasingly congested streets appear to have played a factor leading to an early morning collision between an SUV and an MBTA commuter train at the intersection of Brighton Street and Blanchard Road that left a women critically injured at 8 a.m., Friday, Dec. 9.
While MBTA Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan said at a press conference “we don’t want anyone to jump to conclusions” why the black late model SUV was partially on the tracks, eyewitnesses reported in several media outlets the vehicle was stuck in heavy traffic and could not move when the crossing horns and lights were activated as the inbound train from Fitchburg to Boston’s North Station approached.
Despite the claims of witnesses, Sullivan said “preliminary investigation says that it was not a traffic jam” at the time of the collision.
(Anna Meiler/CBSBoston)
Sullivan said a 58-year-old female was operating the vehicle with her 10-year-old son and two brothers, 11 and 6, as passengers.
Unable to move off the tracks, the woman opened the car doors and removed her son and the 10-year-old from the car when the vehicle was struck in the right rear section. The car was violently spun around hitting the woman who sustained her serious injuries.
The six-year-old who was still in the SUV when it was struck was uninjured as were the 11 and 10-year-olds.
Sullivan said the woman was rushed to emergency care to Beth Israel Hospital. The three boys were also taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Belmont Police and Fire reached the accident scene minutes after the incident. Brighton and Blanchard were closed for approximately three hours after the crash.
Morning and afternoon traffic through Belmont has become increasingly congested as commuters bypass the Fresh Pond/Route 2 interchange and elect to cut through Belmont heading to and from the western suburbs.
Photo: Location of the hit and run incident on Tuesday, Nov. 29. (Google map)
The Belmont Police Department is seeking the help of the public to identify the operator of a motor vehicle that struck a pedestrian on Belmont Street near the intersection of Belmont and Worcester streets.
The pedestrian was struck at 4:45 p.m. while crossing Belmont Street near Linda’s Donuts. After striking the individual, the suspect vehicle did not stop and continued heading eastbound towards Cambridge.
“The pedestrian was transported to the hospital and is expected to recover,” said Belmont Asst. Chief James MacIsaac.
If you have any information pertaining to the vehicle in question or its operator, please contact the Belmont Police at 617-993-2501 or leave a message on our tip line: 617-993-2569 or email: crimetip@belmontpd.org
Photo: The aftermath of Monday’s fire.
A New-England-based arson prevention organization is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who can identify the person or people who set the fire that destroyed the abandoned Codman House on the campus of McLean Hospital in the early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 14.
Arson Watch, made up of Massachusetts and Rhode Island property insurers, is putting up the money hoping to identify the arsonists and deter future deliberate fires.
Anyone with information can call 1-800-682-9229. All calls are confidential.
Photo: This morning’s fire at McLean Hospital.
Investigators are asking for the public’s help with the investigation into the cause of an early morning fire in an abandoned building on the McLean Hospital campus. The 2-alarm fire occurred in the three-story Codman House building at approximately 2:30 a.m., Monday, Nov. 14.
“The cause of the fire is still undetermined but investigators believe information from the community will help them determine how this fire actually started. Anyone with information about is asked to confidentially call the Arson Hotline, 24-hours a day at 1-800-682-9229,” said State Fire Marshal Peter. J. Ostroskey in a press release sent out Monday afternoon.
The Arson Hotline is part of the Arson Watch Reward Program that provides rewards of up to $5,000 for information that helps to solve cases. The program is funded by the property and casualty insurance underwriting companies of Massachusetts.
The fire is being jointly investigated by the Belmont Fire and Police departments and State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Photo: The aftermath of the fire that destroyed the Codman House at McLean Hospital.
A two-alarm fire destroyed the former Codman House on the McLean Hospital campus early Monday morning, Nov. 14.
The blaze, which required fire equipment from neighboring towns of Watertown, Arlington, and Cambridge, started just before 3 a.m. At its height, the glow of the flames could be seen as far as Cushing Square.
According to Belmont Fire Chief David L. Frizzell, the building is a total loss as parts of the building – located in the northern section of the 300-acre campus – will be pulled down to allow fire crews to extinguish any remaining fire smoldering in the debris.
Frizzell said a cause of the fire would not be determined for some time.
A statement from the hospital thanked the “Belmont Fire Department’s rapid response” which contained the fire “to that one building and no other areas of the McLean campus.”
“We are deeply grateful to the Belmont Fire Department, Belmont Police Department, and first responders from surrounding municipalities for their efforts this morning,” said the McLean statement.
Frizzell said Belmont Police were investigating smoke on Concord Avenue when a 911 call came from McLean of a fire in the abandoned structure. Arriving fire crews found “a heavy volume” of flames coming out of the second and third floors.
Frizzell said the blaze was initially difficult to fight as the building was mothballed and fire lines had to be stretched over a long distance. He said the crews were fortunate that the building was unoccupied and far enough away from other building in the vicinity.
It had taken about two hours before firefighters got the fire under control, said Frizzell, who said that crews would spend the rest of the day putting out the last of the fire. He said no firefighters that he knew were injured.
McLean, which has been located off Mill Street for more than 120 years, is the largest psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital and is owned by Partners HealthCare.
The Codman was once the women’s geriatric ward where “‘the ladies of Codman’ staged elaborate tea parties on silver service for [Psychiatrist Robert Coles] and other young residents in the late 1950s” wrote Alex Beam in his history of McLean, Gracefully Insane, The Rise and Fall of America’s Premier Mental Hospital.