Fire causes minor damage to John St apartment

On Thursday, January 13th at 7:28AM, 'C' group firefighters made quick work of a reported possible fire in a bathroom fixture at 77/79 John Street. First arriving firefighters on Engine 3, found fire coming from a bathroom fan on the second floor of 79 John Street and quickly extinguished same with a portable CO2 fire extinguisher. Overhaul was conducted in the attic area above the bathroom fan to ensure the fire had not extended. A City Electrical Inspector was called to the scene and found the ceiling fan not to meet city code. No injuries were reported.

'C' Group holds high-rise fire to single apartment

On Wednesday, January 5th at 7:20PM, firefighters were dispatched for a reported structure fire at the Berkshire Town Apartments at 176 Columbus Avenue, located just west of PFD Headquarters. First arrving firefighters on Engine 3, led by Captain Michael Polidoro and Deputy Chief Keith Phillips, learned the location of the fire to be on the seventh floor. Firefighters made their way to the seventh floor, finding several residents gathered in the elevator lobby waiting to be taken down. Fire doors successfully contained the smoke to the north end of the building. The fire apartment was located and fire attack was initiated immediately. A second alarm was quickly struck, bringing all on-duty personnel to the scene. Firefighters from Tower 1 quickly began positive pressure venitilation of the building while Engine 5 provided backup to Engine 3 and began a primary search of the fire apartment and adjacent apartments. Overhaul was conducted immediately following fire extinguishment, with the fire being held to the one apartment.
 
One tenant was injured when struck by a hoseline being stretched on the fire floor, while no firefighters suffered injuries. WMECO and Berkshire Gas were called to the scene to secure utilities. Fire Investigator Matt Packard determined the cause to be from careless cooking on the stove. The apartment suffered moderate fire and heavy smoke damage, valued at $30,000.

Working smoke detectors alert occupants of Springside Ave fire

On Tuesday, December 28th at 6:30AM, firefighters from 'B' Group were dispatched for a reported bed on fire at 100 Springside Ave. Firefighters from Engine 3 arrived to find fire showing from windows on the basement level of the single-story, six-family building. Firefighters from Engine 3 and Engine 2 pulled attack lines and made a quick knockdown of the fire. Tower 1 firefighters ensured evacuation of the other tenants and began salvage and overhaul operations. Engines 1 and 5 assisted in fire suppression, water supply and overhaul of the fire apartment. WMECO and Berkshire Gas was called to secure utilities. It was later learned by Investigators that the tenant was awoken by a working smoke detector and found smoke coming from the bottom of her bed. She quickly grabbed the burning heating blanket and ran outside with it. The cause was determined to be a faulty electric heating blanket. No injuries were reported to any tenants, although one firefighter suffered a minor laceration to his hand.

2nd Alarm Fire Damages Abandoned Apt. Building on Fenn Street

On Friday, December 17th at 00:36AM, 'A' Group firefighters were dispatched to 475 Fenn Street for reports of smoke coming from the building. Several other calls came into dispatch while units were responding reporting flames coming from the rear of the building. First arriving firefighters from Engine 6, led by Captain Stan Caesar, stretched a handline to the second floor of the four-family abandoned apartment building, encoutering heavy heat and smoke conditions. Tower 1 firefighters laddered several second floor windows and made quick work of venting the roof. A primary search of the building was negative, except for a squirrel found overcome by smoke on the second floor. Engines 3, 1, 5 and 2 were all called to the scene to assist in fire attack and overhaul duties, brought under control  within an hour. There was no power or gas to the structure. PFD Fire Investigators conducted an investigation and deemed the fire undetermined.

Combat Challenge Team competes in World Challenge XIX in Myrtle Beach, SC

The PFD Combat Challenge Team recently competed in the World Challenge XIX in Myrtle Beach, SC on November 11th and had great success! They competed in a wildcard seeding round on Thursday, finishing with a team time of 5:37, good for 9th place out of 19 teams that ran that day. They improved on their previous best team time by 23 seconds! Neil Myers led the team with a time of 1:48. Dan Garner, 1:51. Dan Aitken, 1:57. Jim Ziter, 2:06. The team would like to thank everyone who has supported them this year. Special thanks to Nuclea Bio, PFD Local #2647, and Berkshire Bank. It is very expensive for the team to stay competitive. Entry fees, equipment costs, travel, and other expenses add up and the team is appreciative of all those who provide financial assistance. Stay tuned for a leaner, meaner, stronger, and faster team in 2011!!!