Police/Fire

Fire Hits East End Home, Residents Evacuated by Alert Witnesses

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Watertown Firefighters put out a fire at a home on Kimball Road. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown Firefighters doused a house fire on Kimball Road Tuesday morning. Residents were not hurt thanks to alert employees of a Coolidge Square business. Calls for heavy smoke from the home at 8 Kimball Road came in for a fire at about 7:30 a.m. and a working fire was called at about 7:40 a.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The home sits yards from Mt.

Police/Fire

Hockey Game to Raise Funds to Help Family of Fallen Watertown Firefighter Attend Memorial Ceremony

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Watertown Firefighter Matthew Callahan. The following information came from the Watertown Firefighters Relief Association:

The Matthew Callahan Memorial Fundraiser features a Watertown Fire vs. Watertown Police hockey game on Sunday, April 12, 2026 at Warrior Ice Arena, 90 Guest St. in Brighton. Proceeds to benefits the family of firefighter Matthew Callahan who lost his battle with occupational cancer on Aug.

Police/Fire

Memory of Fallen Watertown Firefighter Not Forgotten Nine Years After His Death

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Watertown Firefighters salute during the ceremony honoring Joe Toscano, the firefighter who died nine years ago while working a fire. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Nine years after losing one of its own, the Watertown Fire Department paid honored to Firefighter Joe Toscano just down the street from where he lost his life. The annual event held at the time of his passing brings together members of the WFD, Toscano’s family, and others who remember the tragic day. Toscano, a father of five and 21 year veteran of the Fire Department, died while fighting a fire in East Watertown on March 17, 2017. On Tuesday, dozens of firefighters lined up to salute at Toscano Square, on Bigelow Avenue, just down the street from the home on Merrifield Avenue where the fire occurred.

Police/Fire

Watertown Firefighters Douse Chimney Fire on Sunday

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Watertown firefighters put out a fire in a chimney on Mt. Auburn Street. (Photo from the Watertown Fire Department)

The Watertown Fire Department used special equipment to battle a fire that started in a chimney on Sunday on Mt. Auburn Street, and also sent out a warning for residents with fireplaces. The WFD sent out the following announcement on social media:

This morning companies extinguished a chimney fire on Mount Auburn Street.

Police/Fire

Firefighters Extinguish Kitchen Fire in Multi-Unity Building on Main Street

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Charlie Breitrose

On Dec. 22, Watertown firefighters responded to a reported fire in the kitchen of an apartment in a multi-unit residential building on Main Street. The fire originated in the cooking area and extended into nearby cabinets, said Watertown Fire Chief Ryan Nicholson. “Prior to the arrival of firefighters, the resident made a valiant attempt to extinguish the fire using a fire extinguisher,” Nicholson said. “When the fire could not be safely controlled, the resident evacuated the apartment and notified emergency services.

Around Town

Chanukah Candles Light the Dark Night at Chabad Watertown’s Fourth Annual Celebration

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Rabbi Dovid Zaltzman lights a candle on the ice menorah during the fourth annual Chanukah Celebration at Arsenal Yards. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

The flames of the candles on the big outdoor menorah shone through the dark and frigid night during Monday’s Chabad Watertown’s fourth annual Chanukah Celebration at Arsenal Yards. Dozens braved the 20 degree weather to enjoy some hot chocolate and doughnuts, catch gelt dropped from a Watertown Fire truck’s ladder, and watch a man twirl flaming sticks, eat fire, and blow fireballs. The fire dancer shoots a fireball during the Chanukah Celebration at Arsenal Yards. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Held on the second night of Chanukah, Chabad Watertown invited City Manager George Proakis, along with Watertown Police Chief Justin Hanrahan and Captain Dan Unsworth to light the service candle, in the middle of the ice menorah.

Police/Fire

Watertown Fire Department Launching Alternate Pathway to Become Firefighter-Paramedic

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The Watertown Fire Department is hiring firefighter-paramedics, and is starting alternative pathways to be hired. Find out more at an upcoming information session. See more details in the announcement from the City of Watertown, below. The City of Watertown is launching a new alternative pathway program for qualified and interested individuals to join the Watertown Fire Department (WFD) as a Firefighter-Paramedic. The City is excited to introduce the Local Register program, a newly approved hiring process from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Human Resources Division that will supplement the existing Civil Service examination system.