Police/Fire

Three from Watertown Graduate from Mass. Firefighting Academy

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Three of Watertown’s newest firefighters graduated from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy on Friday. 

Watertown Provisional Fire Chief Robert Quinn announced the graduation of Anthony Tomao, Daniel Russo and Taylor Davis from the academy in Stow. “The Department is happy to have these firefighters trained and back at the station working to serve the citizens of Watertown,” Quinn said. The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy sent out the following information:

State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey and Massachusetts Firefighting Academy
Director David C. Evans announced the graduation of the 263rd class of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s 50-day Career Recruit Firefighter Training Program on May 11, 2018. “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. The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy (MFA), a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program tuition-free.

Fire Department

Watertown Fire Department Mourning Death of Chief Mario Orangio

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Former Watertown Fire Chief Mario Orangio died overnight, and the Watertown Fire Department is preparing to honor their leader later this week. News of Orangio’s passing spread over social media Tuesday morning. Orangio officially stepped down as Fire Chief in October, but had been battling pancreatic cancer for months. He was 51 years old. He grew up in Watertown and became a firefighter in 1989.

Police/Fire

Watertown & Belmont Fire Departments Place Wager on Thanksgiving Game

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When Belmont High School’s football team travels to Watertown this Thanksgiving for a football game, more will be on the line than just the game. Captain Ken Gardiner, Fire Inspector with the Belmont Fire Department, and Captain Ryan Nicholson, Fire Inspector with the Watertown Fire Department, agreed on a wager after being approached by Kidde, a manufacturer of smoke alarms based in Mebane, NC, the fire inspectors announced. The wager is simple: The winning fire department will receive 50 smoke alarms
and the losing department will receive 25 alarms. The inspector of the losing town will install smoke alarms in their community wearing the football jersey of the winning team’s school. Both inspectors also agreed that the alarms will be installed in high-risk homes (elderly and low-income). The Kidde smoke alarms being donated feature a sealed 10-year battery which eliminates the need to replace batteries for the life of the alarm.

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.