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: Firefighters inspecting the house at 606-608 Trapelo Rd. where a man died in a fire.
An early morning three-alarm fire that gutted a two-story house on Trapelo Road killed a person, according to the Belmont Fire Department.
The 4 a.m. blaze at 606-608 Trapelo Rd. located at the corner of Agassiz Street just outside of Waverley Square took the life of a man who possibly lives there, according to Belmont Fire Chief David Frizzell.
“Tragically, fire deaths do occur due to preventable causes. Fire alarms do help, but they need to in the correct location and operating,” said Frizzell at the scene.
Fire units from Cambridge, Arlington, Waltham, Lexington, and Watertown assisted Belmont in fighting the blaze.
Frizzell said when fire units arrived at the scene, the attic and second floors were fully involved with flames coming out of the windows.
Initially, the building’s occupants reported that everyone had escaped the fire, but it was soon determined a person who reportedly resided on the top floor did not make it out.
After the flames had been knocked down, firefighters found the man’s body in the third floor/attic space.
Belmont Fire and Police are in the process of determining the man’s relationship to the building, said Frizzell.
Frizzell said it appeared the building had fire alarms, but it will have to determined later if they were functioning at the time of the fire. His department will also be investigating the cause of the fire as well as the relationship of the third-floor living space was to the second floor.
The 2,500 sq.-ft. structure built in 1913 included a fully finished attic, according to the Belmont Assessing Department.
Frizzell said the third floor was heavily damaged and there was significant water damage to the second and first floors.
Photo: The location of the accident.
A crossing guard was struck by a motor vehicle in front of the Mary Lee Burbank Elementary School at approximately 8:18 a.m. this morning, Wednesday, Jan. 11, according to a press release from the Belmont Police Department.
The guard, who are hired by the Belmont Police to assist residents and students to cross busy main roadways, was transported by Belmont Fire Rescue from the scene to a local area hospital with non-life threatening injuries, said Belmont Police Assistant Chief James MacIsaac.
The motor vehicle heading westbound on School Street struck the crossing guard in the crosswalk at School Street and Sharpe Road. The preliminary investigation indicates that speed was not a factor.
The vehicle driver was cited at the scene for Failure to Yield to a Pedestrian in the Crosswalk, according to Belmont Police.
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.
Photo: Speed may have been a factor in the one-vehicle accident near Belmont Center on Thursday, Aug. 25.
Late morning traffic came to a halt at one of the busiest town intersection when a dump truck carrying gravel took a tumble sometime before 8:30 a.m. at the corner of Pleasant and Leonard streets, on Thursday, Aug. 25.
No injuries were reported in the one-vehicle accident that shut down the busy intersection for nearly three hours as it took two heavy duty tow trucks to right the rig.
According to an eyewitness, speed was possibly the culprit leading up to the mishap. The Mack truck operated by Ritacco Bros. of Millbury was traveling down the steep slope of Clifton Street attempting to make the right hand turn onto Pleasant Street. Apparently, the truck was going too fast to navigate the corner and tipped onto its driver’s side.
Belmont Fire quickly arrived at the scene – the accident location is one block from the Leonard Street firehouse – and police closed to traffic on Pleasant in both directions.
Waltham Auto Tow arrived and successfully righted the truck at 10:10 a.m. Belmont Public Works’ Highway Division removed the gravel and inspected the roadway. The streets were opened about an hour later.
Belmont Police said any citations for possible traffic violations leading up to the accident would be issued once a formal investigation is completed by the department’s Traffic Division.
Photo: The incident on Trapelo.
A Cambridge resident was arrested on multiple drug charges on Sunday, May 22, after he ran his vehicle into one of the new raised traffic islands on Trapelo Road, resulting in the busy thoroughfare being closed for nearly five hours due to possible hazardous material found in the car.
Jonathan Ottinger, 26, of 172r Harvard St., Cambridge, was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs, possession of a Class D substance with intent to distribute, three counts of possession of Class E drugs and a marked lane violation.
The incident continues to be under investigation by Belmont Police.
A Belmont Police officer on patrol “looked up after hearing Ottinger’s 2003 VW Passet hit the island at 12:12 p.m. When he arrived at the scene, he found the vehicle’s driver-side tires flat by the collision adjacent to the CVS/Pharmacy at 264 Trapelo Rd.
After a short investigation, Ottinger was placed in custody. Soon afterwards, Belmont Fire was called to the scene – the incident took place 100 feet from Belmont Fire headquarters – and it was determined that the scene warrented a visit by a regional Haz Mat team.
Trapelo Road was closed until just after 5 p.m.
The one Class D drug under Massachusetts law is marijuana. A person convicted of possession of a Class D substance with intent to distribute can be sentenced up to two years in county jail and fined between $500 to $5,000.
A Class E controlled substance includes lighter doses of prescription drugs that contain Codeine, Morphine and opium. Conviction could see a person sentenced to up to nine months in jail and fined between $250 to $2,500.
Photo: Belmont Fire in action.
Drug and alcohol testing policy is now part of firefighters job after the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved a three-year contract with the 54 members of the International Association of Firefighter Local 1637 at its Monday, April 25 meeting.
“The firefighters really stepped up to the plate with the town” reaching an agreement after two years of negotiations, said Belmont Fire Department Chief David Frizzell.
While the mandatory testing is new to the department, “it’s becoming the norm among the majority of top tier fire departments,” said Assistant Fire Chief Angus Davison.
The contract, which is retroactive to July 1, 2014, and runs through June 31, 2017, provides for an annual salary cost and living adjustment of two percent and while 13 personnel will see their yearly Advanced Life Savings stipend bumped up from $2,000 to $2,750.
New employees will pay more for their health insurance contributions, from 20 to 25 percent, while seeing a 25 cent increase per hour in compensation. There are also changes in benefits for personnel who obtain associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in fire science.
Photo: Retired Belmont Fire Department Capt. David M. Frizzell
[This article was updated on March 22 at 6 a.m.]
Belmont Fire Fighters Local 1637 on Monday, March 21, 2016, announced the passing of retired Belmont Fire Department Capt. David M. Frizzell.
Frizzell, who lived for many years with his wife, Linda, on Thayer Road, served as the Shift Commander of Group 1.
Frizzell was appointed to the Belmont Fire Department as a firefighter on April 7, 1963. He was promoted to Lieutenant. on January 5, 1969, and to the rank of Captain on July 15, 1979.
He retired from the Belmont Fire Department with nearly 29 years of service on December 28, 1992.
Frizzell was also a state licenced master electrician since 1965 and a general contractor in Belmont. He was also a US Army veteran who served in Korea.
Frizzell is survived by his wife, Linda Frizzell (Sawtell) and children; Richard Frizzell, Belmont Fire Chief David L. Frizzell and his wife Kristina, Mark Frizzell, Laura Frizzell Grace and her husband Robert and the late Michael Frizzell. He is the grandfather to Michael, Erin, Matthew, Daniel and Christopher Frizzell, Jessica Brennick and Joshua and Eddie Grace and cherished his three great-grandchildren. He was a brother to Jane Carey, Louise Ambrose and the late Charles Frizzell. He is survived by many nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours at Brown & Hickey Funeral Home, 36 Trapelo Road, will be held on Wednesday, March 23 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
A funeral service will be held at Grace Chapel, 59 Worthen Rd., Lexington on Thursday, March 24 at 11 a.m. Burial will be private.
Instead of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Belmont Fireman’s Relief Association, P. O. Box 79222, Waverley, MA. 02479.
Photo: The rear of Ohlin’s Bakery that suffered the most damage.
The flash fire that rocked Ohlin’s Bakery early Tuesday morning, March 15, sent the family who’ve owned the store since the 1960s reeling.
“We are still in shock,” said Marybeth Klemm, who with her husband owns and runs the century old Belmont institution in the heart of Cushing Square.
But even as they start the difficult work of getting back on their feet, the Klemm’s have been the recipients of a steady stream of support from their loyal customers.
“It warms our hearts to know the community is rallying behind us,” Marybeth told the Belmontonian Tuesday afternoon, March 15.
Belmont has been following closely the news of the early morning explosion that knocked down both Klemm and his assistant that came from an oven that was turned on to start a long morning of baking the store’s award-winning baked goods including its famous donuts.
“I’m extremely grateful that Paul and Nouri [Hessasta] were not hurt! They have angels watching over them!” said Marybeth.
David Frizzell, Belmont Fire Chief, told the Belmontonian dispatchers received a call at 2:47 a.m. for an explosion and a fire at Ohlin’s at 456 Common St. near the intersection of Trapelo Road.
“When the fire companies arrived, the fire was out,” said Frizzell. Fire personnel found two people at the scene, one, the owner Paul Klemm, had been “engulfed” in the flash fire that followed the explosion. While singed by the flames, both he and Hessasta declined medical attention.
Frizzell said his crews found the back of the operation, where the baking takes place “suffered significant structural damage” with a portion of the roof and a part of the back wall collapsed.
“Right now it’s unsafe to be in that portion of the building so the owner needs to get an engineer in there to do a structural analysis of that section to find out what repairs need to be done,” said Frizzell.
In addition, the front window of Jerry’s Barber Shop next to the bakery was blown out.
While first indications point to natural gas as the culprit, Frizzell said the incident remains under investigation. As a precaution, gas and electrical service were shut off to surrounding businesses so town inspectors could inspect the infrastructure.
Glenn Clancy, director of the Office of Community Development which includes the Building Department which handles inspections, said initial inspection determined the back space of the bakery is “unsafe for occupancy.”
It will be up to the landlord to pull building permits to begin repairs. Clancy’s office will need to inspect the work while other town departments, such as health, will be involved as the business readies to open.
Clancy said he could not say how long the work will take but the retail portion of the building will remain closed until the bakery section is approved for occupancy.
Marybeth said the family is moving forward in reopening the business, although it will be later than sooner before the business opens once again.
“We are in the process of talking with the insurance company. There was a lot of structural damage; so we are not sure how long it will take to fix,” she said.
Marybeth wanted the public to know; “We will try and be back in business as soon as possible! Thanks for your support!”