[Update] BREAKING: Fire Destroys Jimmy’s Food Mart, Damages Block of Stores

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Photo: The fire at Jimmy’s Food Mart that occurred on Saturday, April 18. 

A three-alarm fire destroyed the convenient store Jimmy’s Food Mart and damaged a business block – including a new restaurant days away from opening – at the corner of Belmont and School streets on the Watertown line.

At this time, no one is thought to have been injured in the fire that occurred just after 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 18. 

Belmont Fire Department Fire Chief David Frizzell told the Belmontonian the department received a call reporting a fire in the store.

“When we arrived, there was heavy fire in the back of the market. We don’t know if the store was open but there was someone there,” Frizzell said.

The inferno and smoke could be seen blocks away as flames reached high into the twilight sky as dozens of firefighters battled the conflagration so it would not spread to an abutting residential building at the corner of Lewis Road. Bystanders flocked to the scene as sirens and a helicopter brought attention to the scene. 

The blaze halted traffic on the normally busy thoroughfare as fire equipment from neighboring communities – including Watertown, Cambridge and Waltham – lent mutual aid, sending vehicles and the MBTA 73 bus onto Fairview Avenue. In addition, electricity was cut off in the blocks near the fire. 

“A Watertown engine arrived when we did so we had help from the start,” said Frizzell.

It took about half-an-hour to knock down most of the flames.

“Jimmy’s is heavily damaged, the roof has come in and there’s heavy fire damage. It’s a loss,” he said.

Parmjit Singh, owner of Jimmy’s, located at 297 Belmont St., was watched from across the street as his business burned.

“I put all my dreams in this town,” Singh told the Belmontonian. “A lot of people supported us. Now my business, everything is gone.”

Singh and his wife and partner, Surinder Kaur Dhaliwal, bought the shuttered site of the former Shore Drug in 2013 and opened it as a convenience store in January 2014. The store is managed by their son and business partner, Jimmy Singh.

Since opening, neighborhood reaction has been overwhelmingly favorable, with residents commending the owners for operating a clean and inviting business. Earlier this year, the Belmont Board of Selectmen rejected a beer and wine license to Singh and Dhaliwal. 

“I was here until 10 a.m. when I went home to sleep. Then my wife called to say the business was on fire,” Singh said. He does not know what the future holds for Jimmy’s.

“I want to open. I need to open. But I don’t know right now,” he said.

The fire caused heavy smoke and water damage to the other retail establishments on the block, said Frizzell. The businesses including Shine on Salon, Parmagian & Marinelli Law Office, Dr. Edward J. Burns Optometrist, Hemmingway Tailoring-Alterations, and a new eatery, “Tony G’s Barbecue,” in the former location of Gustazo Cuban Restaurant at 289 Belmont St. It was reported to open soon with new furniture and fixtures already installed.  

The fire is currently under investigation by the Belmont Fire and Belmont Police departments as the Massachusetts Fire Marshall was also at the scene, said Frizzell.  

“We’ll be here for the rest of the night. There’s pockets of fire we still need to get to. There’s quite a bit of work ahead of us,” he said. 

Three Fire Department ‘Newbies’ Brings Belmont’s Staffing to 2009 Levels

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Photo: Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman (from left) swears in Ryan Keane, Andrew Butler and Charles Gerrard as Belmont’s newest firefighters.

Belmont’s Fire Department has three “newbies” among its ranks starting last week.

Charles Gerrard, Andrew Butler, and Ryan Keane were appointed as firefighters on Monday, March 16 by Belmont Fire Chief David Frizzell, and sworn in by Town Clerk Ellen Cushman at the Town Hall in a brief ceremony.

The three new firefighters are also Massachusetts-certified paramedics. After their initial training, they will be sent to the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy in Stow to participate in the nine week Career Recruit Training Program. While assigned at the academy, they will study firefighting strategy and tactics, fire ground evolutions, motor vehicle extrication, search and rescue, and hazardous materials mitigation among numerous other topics.

“We welcome the new firefighters and are looking forward to working with them. We wish them a long healthy and safe career with us,” said Frizzell.

These new firefighters are being hired as part of a Federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant to restore lost firefighter positions, bringing the department back to its 2009 staffing level of 57-and-a-half full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.  This level is still 23-and-a-half FTE positions lower than the department’s historic staffing level of 82 full-time employees and two part-time employees.

Belmont Fire Log: An Act of Kindness for a Belmont Senior

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Outside, looking in

March 8 – Just about half past noon, a fire crew headed to a residence on Simmons Avenue to help yet another resident who found themselves locked out of their home.

Search on a cold night

March 9 – A hair before 6 p.m., Engine 1 and the Rescue truck took off towards a house on Beech Street after someone reported seeing a person in a nearby snow bank. Crews took the call quite serious as the call came from a group house for people needing assistance in their daily lives. When the firefighters got there, they couldn’t find anyone in the area. In addition, everyone at the group home was accounted for. The person who made the call told the crews that the person who he spotted in the snow had left the location.

Boiler blowout

March 10 – A couple of minutes after 1 a.m., a fire squad responded to a report of gushing water in house on Greybirch Park. The team discovered that the boiler had cracked and water was leaking out. The heating system was shut down.

Time for spring cleaning

March 11 – Just before half past 11 a.m., firefighters arrived at a Centre Avenue house after they got a report the fire alarm had gone off. Turns out workers doing renovations had kicked up enough dust to accidentally activated the smoke detector.

Going above and beyond

March 13 – It was too early in the morning, just after 3 a.m. when the dispatcher received a call from a disabled resident needing help. The Engine 1 crew arrived a cold Slade Street two-family where they found a man in his 70s sitting in a chair in the living room, a walker close at hand. The resident told the firefighters he was unsure how to use the digital wall thermostat and could the crew turn up the heat in the apartment. The firefighters showed the resident how to adjust the thermostat and waited for the heat to return. While the elderly man denied that he needed any other assistance at the moment, the firefighters encouraged him to call back when the need arises.

Belmont Fire Log: Stuck in the Fire House, Town Hall All Wet

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Editor’s Note: The photo initially used to illustrate this article is a copyright image by an established photographer used without his permission or compensation. The selection of the image was inadvertent and an error that this publication regrets.

Locked out

March 2 – Just after 3 p.m., firefighters headed over to Creeley Road where they helped a resident who locked himself out of his house.

All that snow

March 4 – Right at 11 a.m., Engine 1 was dispatched to Greybirch Park house for a water leak in the ceiling. The homeowner was informed to have her electrical wiring and ceiling checked by licensed professionals.

It happens

March 4 – At 10 minutes ’til noon, the elevator in the Fire Department’s Trapelo Road headquarters suddenly stalled, stranding a few people in the cab. It didn’t take long for firefighter’s to “extricated” the occupants as they only had to travel a few feet to the location of the incident. 

Your neighbor’s fire

March 4 – At a quarter ’til 9 p.m., Engine 1 went to investigate the reported outdoor odor of smoke outside a house on Brookside Avenue. Turns out a next-door neighbor was using his fireplace. 

Lunchtime mishap

March 5 – At a quarter ’til 1 p.m., fire crews were sent to a business on Pleasant Street for a possible fire. It turned out that the blaze was confined to food container.

Town Hall all wet

March 7 – At 9:18 a.m., Engines 1 and 2, the ladder truck and Rescue 1 were dispatched to Belmont Town Hall after a report the fire sprinkler was operating. The Engine 2 crew didn’t find a fire or smoke but did discover the sprinkler head in the first-floor vestibule spraying water everywhere. The system was shut down despite the fact that firefighters were unable to gain access to the main alarm panel room. Town employees said he would take care of access issues. The elevator was also locked and tagged due to water in the shaft.

 

 

 

Belmont Fire Log: Idling Vehicle Caused CO Alarms to Sound

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Locked out, the series

Feb. 2 – Just before 7:30 p.m., crews clambered to Slade Street to help a resident who locked themselves out of their home.

Water from the attic

Feb. 2 – Just after 7:30 p.m., Engine 1 took off for a York Road single family to investigate a water problem. Turns out a water leak developed in the attic and damaged not only the roof, but also knocked out a hard-wired, second-floor bedroom smoke detector. The firefighters advised the owner to contact a licensed electrician to check the wiring and contact a roof repair company. The homeowner decided to relocate her family at a local hotel for the night.

Dangerous act

Feb. 3 – A few minutes after 10 a.m., fire crews from Engine 2 and Rescue 1 were sent to a Thomas Street house after a carbon monoxide detector began sending an alarm to dispatchers. While the homeowners had just left as the fire equipment arrived, a neighbor let the companies into the house. Inside, the fire personnel did detect elevated levels of the gas. The friendly neighbor said he might know the reason for the spike in the readings: the homeowners had turned on and allowed their vehicle to idle in the attached garage.

Locked in, the series

Feb. 3 – At 20 minutes ’til 11 a.m., fire crews headed off to a location on Agassiz Avenue; a resident was locked-in a vehicle.

Long burn

Feb. 4 – Just about 4:30 p.m., firefighters were sent to check on a person in a building on Trapleo Road. They could find the person either inside or outside the dwelling, but they did discover the electric stove burner on.

Locked out, the series

Feb. 4 – At five minutes past 4:30 p.m., crews were dispatched to Garfield Road to help another resident who was locked out of their house.

Marsh gas

Feb. 5 – At a quarter ’til 6 p.m., firefighters headed out to a location on Marsh Street for a natural gas leak. A neighbor said leaking gas was an ongoing problem. It sure is; two days later, fire crews were dispatched once again to the same address for the same problem.

Solution turns into a problem

Feb. 6 – A little after 1 p.m., the entire fire force was off to a home on Shaw Road for a reported building fire. On arrival, the crews could see flames showing from the roof. As Engine 2 placed a roof ladder on the side of the house, it was discovered the heating wire meant to melt roof ice was on fire. As crews held the fire in check with a Dry-Chem extinguisher, the Ladder 1 firefighters entered the house to shut off the electricity. Once the power was off, the companies extinguished the fire and overhauled the scene. Wire inspectors responded along with the home owner to the inspect the damage.

 

Belmont Fire Log: Just Add a Little Stove Top Grease While Cooking

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‘Nuff said.
Jan. 11 – At 10:11 a.m., fire units were sent to a Common Streeet house for an outdoor water leak. Turned out, as the official fire log reported, the problem was due to a “frozen outside cock.”
It was Sunday
Jan. 11 – Just before half past 11 a.m., members of a Belmont church’s congregation asked Belmont Rescue and Engine 1 to check on a fellow member who didn’t show up for services. Firefighters discovered the congregate had simply overslept.
Second-hand smoke alarm
Jan. 15 – Seconds before high noon, Engine 1 and Ladder 1 were sent to a business on Common Street in Cushing Square due to a fire alarm having gone off. Turns out an employee of a neighboring business had overheated his lunch in the microwave. The smoke circulated through the air vent and activated the smoke detector in the store next door.
Just add a little stove top grease
Jan. 15 – At three minutes past 5 p.m., fire crews were dispatched to Gordon Terrace for a reported kitchen fire. And it was just that; a stove top accident confined to the pot. Engine 1 disconnected power to the stove and it was red tagged for service. A possible piece of evidence: fire fighters noted a long-term, heavy buildup of grease around the top and sides of the stove. In addition, the Belmont Housing Authority was informed that the apartment’s fire alarm was not working. But the occupant said it was beeping away but she ventilated the area which caused the alarm to stop.

Fire Heavily Damages Two Family on Russell Terrace, Occupant Taken to Hospital

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A two-alarm fire heavily damaged a 105-year-old two-family house at the end of Russell Terrace, sending an elderly occupant to the hospital this afternoon, Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Flames and smoke were billowing from the first and second floor windows of the wooden Colonial when the first fire crews arrived at the dead end street off of White Street near the Watertown line, Belmont Fire Chief David L. Frizzell told the Belmontonian at the scene.

The call came into Belmont dispatch at 12:06 p.m. and was quickly upgraded to a second alarm, said Frizzell.

A haze hung over a blocked off White Street as firefighters worked inside the building to douse flames that worked their way into the awes. The exterior was blackened by the blaze.

A Russell Terrace resident who did not want to be named said her husband saw smoke coming from the second floor window just after noon.

“He yelled at me to call 911. I’m surprised I didn’t have a heart attack running to the phone,” she said.

Frizzell and the resident told the Belmontonian an elderly occupant was seen exiting the building’s rear extension as the fire department apparatus arrived. The man was picked up by a fire fighter and placed into an ambulance and was taken to an unknown area hospital.

It took firefighters an hour to knock down the fire which destroyed the front right of the building and melted the aluminum siding of the neighboring house.

Frizzell said it was too early to determine what started the fire. He said while heavily damaged, about two-thirds of the structure did not suffer fire damage so it would not immediately be seen as a total loss.

Mutual aid came from Watertown, Cambridge, Arlington, Waltham and Weston.

The 2,228 sq.-ft. house, built in 1910, was assessed at $142,000 with the total property valued by the town at $430,000. 

Belmont Fire Log: I’m Locking You Out, Mom

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Where is this arc?

Jan. 4 – About an hour after midnight, Engine 2 was sent to Knox Street to investigate what was reported to be outside wires arcing. Firefighters were told by a homeowner that she saw a flash and heard popping sounds which she believed came from a street light across from her home. One neighbor reported hearing popping sounds coming from the area of Lamoine and Bellington. Belmont Light respond to the scene but couldn’t find such event.

Read the recipe

Jan. 4 – Just after 7 a.m., fire crews were off to McLean Hospital’s Admissions building for a reported cooking fire. Turned out to be a microwave set on the incorrect cooking time.

The need for private time

Jan. 4 – At a quarter ’til 2 p.m., fire department personnel were sent to a Watson Road house to “rescue” a young child who somehow locked himself in the family’s bathroom. Rather than simply kicking the door in, fire crews removed the pins on the outside of the door and extricated the mischevious toddler.

On the side

Jan 5 –  Just before 8 p.m., fire companies arrived at a house on Skahan Road to remove some aluminum siding from the structure’s roof line which had come loose in the high winds buffering the area.

Get out the mop

Jan. 7 – At about a quarter ’til 10 a.m., fire personnel were directed to a house on Hull Street for water in the basement. The culprit; a broken hose to the washing machine. Unfortunately, the amount of water was too low for the fire department’s pumps to be of any use. Turns out the homeowner was going to handle that job.

Locked out, part 1

Jan. 8 – At a quarter past 10 a.m., a fire department crew were sent to a Bartlett Avenue two family. Someone forgot their keys. Turned out that everything at the house – windows, basement doors – was locked and the woman didn’t want to risk any damage to the landlord’s house. So the BPD drove the woman over to McLean Hospital to meet her husband who had an extra set of keys.

Locked out, part 2

Jan. 8 – At 10:45 a.m., the department drove over to Elm Street where they found a woman who left her keys in the truck. As personnel were about to “pop” the entry, the woman’s husband comes along with his set of keys.

Up through the chimney

Jan. 8 – At just about 3 p.m., fire crews rushed over to a Birch Street house after heavy smoke appeared from the chimney. Turned out that the flue pipe had a bit of creosote buildup, at which time the fire department asked it to be cleaned before using again.

A personal note

On Jan. 5 at at 8:42 a.m., the editor of the Belmontonian was running very late and was about to leave his abode on Unity Avenue when the alarms started blaring. “Get out of the building. Fire” A quick look into the basement found black smoke coming from a boiler. A call to 911 was redirected to the Belmont dispatcher and the fire department arrived quickly afterwards. The crew found that it was only a boiler malfunction with the fire confined. The blew out the smoke and made sure everything was OK. I’d like to thank the Belmont Fire and Police departments for their professional manner and response.

Belmont Fire Log: Toddler and Cooking Lunch Inside, Parent Locked Outside

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Gas, on and off

Dec. 1 – At half past 4 p.m., Engine 2 and Ladder 1 headed over the Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue for a reported odor of gas in the building. Engine 2 investigated and found a slight odor but not of natural gas. A library representative told the crew the odor has occurred in past and dissipated by itself. What the firefighters did find was excessive stored material around the boiler. It will be corrected, said the library rep.

“Not Dishwasher Safe”

Dec. 1 – At a quarter ’til 11 p.m., Engine 1 was sent to a house on School Street to investigate this “odor” in the kitchen. The discovered the source of the smell: some plastic dining ware which was placed in the dishwasher melted during the drying setting.

Dig Unsafe

Dec. 2 – Barely a minute past 10 a.m., Engine 1 was dispatched to a single-family house on Glenn Road for a “gas emergency.” Turns out some yard workers dug a bit too deep and cut the gas main into the home. The gas utility was called and shut down the main service to the house. Engine 1 reported normal readings for carbon dioxide throughout the abode. After the search, the gas company told the firefighters they would handle it.

Toddler and lunch from the outside looking in

Dec. 3 – At 8:24 a.m., Engine 2 took off to a single-family house on Colby Street where a two-year-old was locked inside the building. He was not just trapped, the oven was also on and there was food cooking on the stove top. Mom allowed the crew from Engine 2 to take their 24-foot ground ladder and force entry through the second-floor window. Sure, there was some minor damage the the window, sash and locking mechanism but they freed the toddler before any thing serious could have happened.

No dessert for someone

Dec. 6 – At half-past 6 p.m., a fire alarm was pulled at a restaurant in Belmont Center. Engine 2 and Ladder 1 got there in no time, only to discover a very young customer was the puller. Bon appetite.

Belmont Fire Log: Sleep-Deprived Tenant Speaks His Mind to Firefighter

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The illustration is a detail from a larger piece called “Sleep Deprivation” by a great young artist Adam Murphy.

Cooking too long

Nov. 23 – At half past noon, fire companies from headquarters were dispatched to a large brick apartment building on Trapelo Road in Cushing Square after smoke was reported in a 6th-floor unit. The crew from Engine 1 broke down the door and discovered that someone left their cooking unattended. The place was ventilated.

Out of date detector 

Nov. 23 – Just about 25 minutes after the incident on Trapelo, fire units were sent to School Street for a possible gas leak. Sure enough, the alarm was buzzing away but there was no odor of gas. A firefighter from the Ladder truck discovered the device was manufactured in 2000. Turns out the average life span for that device is roughly five to seven years. The home owner was advised to replace the carbon monoxide detector.

Nothing to learn here

Nov. 24 – At 20 minutes until 6 p.m.,  Engine 1 and the Ladder truck took off to a private school on Lexington Street to investigate, what else, the reported inside odor of natural gas. Along with National Grid personnel, the crews reported normal readings throughout the building.
Sleep-deprived tenant speaks his mind

Nov. 24 – Just after 11 p.m., crews were sent to investigate an automated alarm at a building on Trapelo Road in Central Square (the area at the corner of Beech Street) with a business on the ground floor and apartments on the second. Each floor has its own fire alarm system. So this is what happened: a tenant on the second floor was hearing this slight buzzing sound coming from a building alarm horn on his floor but which was connected to the ground-floor system. It’s 11 p.m. and since he had no way of stopping the damned-thing buzzing, he pro-actively removed the horn from the wall which then set off the fire alarm panel on the first floor and hence the alarm to the fire department. While firefighters told the tenant tampering with a fire alarm system is not permitted, the tenant gave them a piece of his mind (after putting back the horn).

“I attempted to educate the tenant on the dangers of tampering with a fire alarm system but the tenant felt that I was being unreasonable,” read the report.

The owner of the building was called and made aware of the situation and assured us an electrician would be called in the morning to evaluate system.

“Now where did I leave my keys?”

Nov. 26 – A bit after 1:30 p.m., firefighters were sent to Slade Street to get a person back into their house after they locked themselves out.

What does this say about the tenant’s cooking?

Nov. 28 (Black Friday) – At a quarter ’til 5 p.m., Belmont Fire companies and Watertown Engine 2 were sent to a reported kitchen fire in a two-family on Grove Street. The apartment dweller said she set the oven on self-cleaning (it was the day after Thanksgiving) when it began to smoke. The electrical and gas services leading to the oven were shut down and the kitchen was ventilated by use of a smoke ejector. While they were there, firefighters noticed that the smoke detectors on the first floor were covered over with plastic. The tenants told the crews the detectors would sound each time they would cook a meal and they covered them to prevent a false alarm. The commander at the scene informed them of the dangers of covering the detectors and not to do so in the future. The landlord said he would replace the oven and add another detector to the first floor back hallway.