Police/Fire

Watertown Firefighters Battle Warehouse Fire, Hot Weather

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On one of the hottest days of the year, Watertown Firefighters had to battle a fire on the roof of a warehouse on Bridge Street. The warehouse, which is attached to the back of the Olympia Moving & Storage building, was being demolished on Wednesday. Watertown Fire officials believe that is what started the blaze. “We are pretty certain that the were beginning to cut with a power saw and the sparks caught the corrugated foam under the rubber roof – the insulation – on fire,” said Watertown Deputy Fire Chief Rob Iannetta. A second alarm was not required to battle the blaze, Iannetta said, but an additional fire engine from Newton came to assist the Watertown Fire Department.

Fire Department

Brush Fire Ignited by Fire Pit Burns Part of an Abandoned Property

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Firefighters extinguished a fire that started on an abandoned property off of Pleasant Street Thursday evening. 

Watertown Fire Prevention Officer Capt. Ryan Nicholson said the blaze started with a fire pit made on a piece of land behind the Launch Building. “It started from careless extinguishment of a fire pit,” Nicholson said. The fire occurred at a building on property formerly owned by Raytheon, but mostly burned a brush and wood covered area of about 500 square feet, Nicholson said. The Fire Department had difficulty locating the fire at first, because it is on abandoned property, Nicholson said. When they got there they had to break open a lock to get into a gate.

Police/Fire

Watertown Fire Department Douses Three Fires in Three Days

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Watertown Firefighters tackled three house fires in three days, dousing all before major damage could be done. 

The first fire occurred on Saturday, July 16. The Fire Department received a call around 9:55 p.m that there was a fire at a Mason Road home. Smoke was seen coming from the front porch of the home, and firefighters extinguished the flames before they could do more damage. Watertown Fire Inspector Capt. Ryan Nicholson said the cause of the fire was electrical wiring. Fire at the Village Condos
On Sunday, July 17, a fire was reported when smoke was seen coming out of the front door of the condominium at the Village Condominiums on Belmont Street.

Fire Department

Fire Department Getting Equipment that Can Save Your Life & Theirs

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Watertown’s firefighters just finished training on two new pieces of equipment, one which could save a patient’s life and another that could save a firefighter. 

The first piece of equipment, the Physio-Control LUCAS 2 Chest Compression System, goes around someone whose heart has stopped beating, and does automatic chest compressions. “It does 102 compressions per minute,” said Crystal Perry, sales representative and trainer for Physio-Control, which makes the equipment. Once the equipment is put into place, firefighters can do other treatment, or carry a person out of a house. “That’s what this is perfect for – going down the stairs or in an elevator,” a firefighter said during the training. “You don’t have to stop and do compressions.”

Fire Department

Watertown Firefighters to Get New Breathing Equipment Thanks to Grant

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Soon, Watertown Firefighters will have modern equipment to use when going into areas with dangerous fumes, and will be able to be located more easily should the get lost or injured in a fire. The Watertown Fire Department received the Assistance to Firefighters Grant from the federal Department of Homeland Security. The Town Council approved the town’s share, $22,163, while the federal government will pay for $221,637, Town Manager Michael Driscoll said. The money will pay for a set of 31 self-contained breathing apparatuses, said Fire Chief Mario Orangio. “This allows us to enter building in hazardous conditions,” Orangio said.

Around Town

Extra Staffing Will Allow Fire Department to Provide Paramedic Service

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Watertown residents will soon be getting faster ambulance service, thanks in part to the permanent addition of four member of the Watertown Fire Department. Fire Chief Mario Orangio thanked Town Manager Michael Driscoll and the Town Council Tuesday night for adding the salaries of four firefighters into the town budget after they had been paid for by the federal SAFER grant for two years. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing on the SAFER hires,” Orangio said. “You have heard me the past few years saying how important it is to increase staffing. It will make a difference to the services we provide.”

Police/Fire

Old Home Serves as Great Training Opportunity for Fire Department

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Many of the Watertown Fire Department’s training exercises are done in the fire station, but a home set to be demolished by a developer provided a rare and valuable venue for training. Over the past couple weeks, Watertown firefighters got a chance to get out their axes, saws and ladders and hack into a home on Harrington Avenue that will soon be demolished by a developer. “It gives us the opportunity to do things we have not done since the (fire) academy,” said Lt. David Meagher, the department’s training officer. Since the house will be torn down, the firefighters didn’t have to worry about taking it easy on the walls and roof. “We cut holes in the roof.

Government

Fire Chief: Contract is Biggest Obstacle to Advanced Ambulance Service

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One of the goals of the Watertown Fire Department is to upgrade to advanced life support (ALS) ambulance service, but to do so Fire Chief Mario Orangio said the town will have to settle the contract with the firefighters union. Orangio presented his budget to the Town Council Wednesday night. Watertown has eight certified paramedics in the department. The Fire Department’s budget of $8.8 million includes $95,000 for equipment required to start-up an ALS service ambulance. Currently Watertown uses an outside ambulance service for ALS service, and the Fire Department provides basic life support (BLS) services.