Now that’s a deep sleep

Feb. 9 – Just a few minutes ’til 5 a.m., Engine 1 was sent to a two-family on Harding Avenue because a smoke detractor was blaring and blaring. The people on the first floor said the second-floor residents were there, but they could not raise them. The crew forced their way into the apartment where they discovered visible smoke in the unit. Firefighters found and woke up the sound sleepers and along with the first-floor residents were evacuated. Turns out the smoke came from the fireplace where a small blaze was filling the apartment with smoke. Yup, a resident, closed the flue before making sure the fire was completely out. The fire was put out, and the place ventilated.

Damn, that ice dam

Feb. 9 – At a quarter past 9 a.m., firefighters arrived at a Hawthorne Street house where a resident was having an issue with a small amount of water leaking through the ceiling. Turns out there was an ice dam behind the gutter. Unfortunately for the resident, “there was nothing we could do nothing to rectify the issue,” stated firefighters.

Low-tech solution 

Feb. 9 – About ten minutes past 2 p.m., Engine 2 was dispatched to a location on Richardson Road by the town’s Water Department to investigate water flowing around a sidewalk/retaining wall area. The water was running down an occupant’s driveway and into his garage. The sump pump wasn’t working because the water level in a garage too shallow. So firefighters dammed up the water at the sidewalk by using snow and pushed water into the street using the homeowner’s shovel.

A poke a day

Feb. 10 – At a quarter past 5 a.m., a concerned call came from a Clark Street resident: water was dripping through a first-floor ceiling. A crew member used a pike pole to penetrate the ceiling to relieve the pressure and direct the flow of water. The homeowner was advised to call a contractor to remove the snow from the roof and also to assess any interior water damage.

Smokey flavor

Feb. 10 – At a quarter ’til 8 p.m., crews were sent to a home on Birch Hill Road for smoke in the house. Since it was around dinner time, one would suspect something to do with cooking causing the incident. Sure enough; the owner forgot about the food he was cooking on the stove top.

More damned dams

Feb. 11– At a quarter ’til 8 a.m., Engine 1 cruised over to a house on Payson Terrace for a reported “small water leak” from a roof ice dam that was leaking through a light fixture. The resident was told not to use the light, and the circuit breaker was shut down to the fixture. Firefighters advised the resident to call a roofer or contractor to fix the leak and have an electrician look at the fixture before turning the circuit back on.

Another damn dam

Feb. 11 – At 5:24 p.m., units were dispatched to a multifamily on Gordon Terrace as was water was falling through the kitchen smoke detector. The firefighters removed the damaged smoke detector, and the hazard removed.

Time out, fire alarm

Feb. 11 – At just about 6:30 p.m., Engine 2, Ladder 1, and Rescue 1 were sent to the High School when the fire alarm activated. Was it smoke, fire, a leaking roof that set the alarm off? Try a basketball. As the Belmont/Lexington Girls’ Basketball match (see featured image) was underway on the ground floor of the Wenner Field House, someone in the upstairs “Little Gym” used a ball to hit the alarm with a bulls-eye of a shot. The alarm was reset, and the game resumed (which Belmont won.)

Where there’s smoke, it’s probably steam

Feb. 11 – At 9:23 p.m., Engine 1 was sent to Robin Wood Road close-by the Lexington line for the report of smoke in the area. It wasn’t smoke; it was steam vapor coming from the house.

Love stalled

On Valentine’s Day, just before 7 p.m., a crew was sent to a house on Benton Road to free an elderly resident who became trapped in a stalled elevator. They got the person out, AOK.