Police/Fire

Watertown Firefighter Earns Award at Mass. Firefighter Academy

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Watertown Firefighter Corey MacDougall graduated from the Mass. Fire Academy and also earned an honor while there. The following information was provided by the Watertown Fire Department:

Watertown Firefighter Corey MacDougall not only graduated from the Massachusetts Fire Academy Training 10 week training program, but received an award for his outstanding work. 

Firefighter MacDougall was  the recipient of the Richard N. Bangs Award, which is given to the outstanding member of the recruit class, said David Evans, director of the Mass. Firefighter Academy in a letter to Watertown Fire Chief Bob Quinn. “This selection is based upon his achievements both on academical exams and practical skills,” Evans said.

Police/Fire

Pickup Truck Hits Watertown Storefront, Rolls Over

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A driver struck the side of a store on Main Street and flipped his pickup overnight, but suffered only minor injuries. The accident occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday when a pickup heading west on Main Street went off the road, struck the side of Ricci’s Liquor Store at the corner of Waverley Avenue and rolled over at least once. The vehicle appeared to be speeding before the accident occurred, said Watertown Deputy Fire Chief Rob Iannetta. “We were responding to another call on Coolidge Avenue and he raced by us on Arsenal Street,” Iannetta said. “A minute or two later we got a call about a motor vehicle accident.”

Police/Fire

Watertown Firefighter Graduates from Mass. Fire Academy

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Watertown Firefighter Cory Donahue, left, graduated from the Massachusetts Fire Academy’s training course on Friday. He is pictured with Watertown Fire Chief Bob Quinn. Watertown Fire Chief Robert Quinn announced that firefighter Cory Donahue graduated from the Massachusetts Fire Academy’s 10-week training program. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Department of Fire Services provided the following announcement about the graduation and Firefighting Academy course:

State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA) Director David C. Evans announced the graduation of the 275th class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s 50-day Career Recruit Firefighter Training Program on August 9, 2019. “This rigorous professional training provides our newest firefighters with the basic skills to perform their jobs effectively and safely,” said State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey.

Police/Fire

Tree Falls on Major Watertown Roadway, Impacts Bus

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Bus service on the MBTA’s 73 route was impacted Sunday after a tree fell on Belmont Street in Watertown. A tree fell across a major road in Watertown Sunday afternoon, impacting MBTA bus service in Watertown. The tree fell on Belmont Street near Prentiss Street, according to an Instagram post from the Watertown Fire Department. It struck wires used by the MBTA’s 73 bus. View this post on Instagram Early this afternoon a large tree fell across Belmont Street at Prentiss Street.

Police/Fire

Watertown Youths Learn What It’s Like to be a Firefighter

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A cadet in the Middlesex Youth Public Safety Academy uses the fire hose as at Saltonstall Park. Holding tightly to a real fire hose, a young camper from the Middlesex Sheriff’s Youth Public Safety Academy shot a wide stream of water hundreds of feet across the field at Saltonstall Park on Wednesday morning. The Watertown Fire Department welcomed 31 youngsters from town to show them what it is like to be a firefighter. The campers are part of the week-long summer camp, and later in the day they stopped by the Watertown Police Station to learn about what police officers do. Watertown Fire Capt. Bob Power helps a camper use a fire hose.

Police/Fire

Watertown Firefighters Battled 2-Alarm Fire Sunday Morning

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Parts of a 2.5 story home in East Watertown were damaged by a fire on Sunday morning, and one firefighter suffered an injury. The alarm came in at 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 23 for the home at 51 Quimby Street, according to Watertown, and Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson, the incident commander, called for a second alarm at 8:13 a.m.

The fire did extensive damage to the third floor apartment in the home, and the other two floors had smoke and water damage, according to the report released by Watertown Fire Chief Bob Quinn. View this post on Instagram This morning Group 2 responded to a structure fire on Quimby Street. Two alarms were ordered by Deputy Chief Nicholson to control the blaze. All occupants evacuated safely.

Police/Fire

Budget Increase Allows Watertown Fire Department to Run Two Ambulances

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The Watertown Fire Department will now be running two ambulances in an effort to respond to the increasing number of medical calls. By adding additional staffing, the Watertown Fire Department plans to run a second ambulance, which will enable them to cover more medical calls in Watertown, and cut down the time it takes to reach someone in need of medical attention. Currently the Fire Department runs an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance, that can provided paramedic level care to patients. The WFD has a second ambulance that currently sits idle. By adding two more people to a shift, that ambulance can hit the streets with a Basic Life Support (BLS) crew.

Around Town

Watertown Firefighters Attend Graduations of Children of Lost Comrades

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Jocelyn Orangio, daughter of late-Watertown Fire Chief Mario Orangio, was joined by members of the Watertown Fire Department at her graduation from Clark University. Firefighter pictured, L-R: Captain J. Russo, Deputy Chief R. Nicholson, Firefighter T. Donovan, Deputy Chief T. McManus, Lieutenant R. Mannix, Lieutenant E. Allen, Firefighter T. Davis, Firefighter G. McManus. Members of the Watertown Fire Department showed they do not forget their fallen colleagues by attending their children’s college graduations this week. On Thursday, several members of the Watertown Fire Department headed to Bridgewater State for the graduation of Alyssa Toscano. She is the daughter of Joe Toscano, who died while fighting a fire in East Watertown two years ago.