Between April 29 and May 12, the Harvard Fire Department responded to one car fire, one possible car fire, two multivehicle accidents, one automatic house alarm, and one request for an officer investigation.
Saturday, April 29
The Fire Department was called to a Shaker Road car fire at 10:27 a.m. Six firefighters responded on Engine 1 and Engine 2. They discovered an SUV with significant fire damage in the passenger compartment; the fire had already burned itself out when the department arrived. The firefighters disconnected the battery and wet down the interior with water and foam. The car was parked and unoccupied at the time of the fire. The firefighters were back at the station just after noon. The car, which belonged to a landscaper, was destroyed; the firefighters suspect an electrical fire.
Wednesday, May 3
Wednesday night’s training focused on how to use foam. Foam suppresses oxygen, making it an important firefighting tool. Department members discussed both the percentage of foam to mix into the fire hoses and the two attachments that fasten to the hose nozzle to create different effects as the foam is sprayed. For a regular fire, firefighters mix approximately 1 percent foam into the water. Engine 1, Engine 2, and the forestry truck have foam tanks on board; the department can also add foam from a 5-gallon container.
Tuesday, May 9
The department received a request for an officer investigation at 4:24 p.m. for an alarm sounding at Camp Green Eyrie. The request came from a citizen who heard the alarm from his boat on Bare Hill Pond. Once the officer located the smoke detector in question, he cleaned it, reset it, and tested it. It worked properly, and he was done by 5 p.m. At 8:50 p.m., the department was called to a car fire on Route 2 westbound. Nine firefighters responded and were assembling at the fire station when the state police called with an update: The car had overheated, there was no fire, and no response was needed.
Wednesday, May 10
Six firefighters, Engine 1, and Engine 2 responded to a two-car accident at 8:50 a.m. on the on ramp from Ayer Road onto Route 2 eastbound. There were no injuries, but there was radiator fluid in the roadway that the firefighters cleaned up with SpeedyDry. One car was towed and one was driven away. At 6:58 p.m. an automatic house alarm sounded on East Bare Hill Road. Eleven firefighters responded. One firefighter covered the station while the 10 others on Engine 1, Engine 2, the tanker, and Tower 1 went to the house. Once there the firefighters confirmed that burned food had set off the alarm and no assistance was required.
Thursday, May 11
The department received a call for another multicar accident on Route 2 eastbound at 7:52 a.m. Six firefighters, Engine 1, and Engine 2 responded with the Harvard ambulance. This accident also had a minor fluid leak, and the firefighters again used SpeedyDry to contain and clean up the fluids. The ambulance crew evaluated four patients; three refused treatment and one was taken to Emerson Hospital. Two vehicles were towed and the third was driven away.
FIRE DEPARTMENT FACTOID
Every year the Fire Department and ambulance crew give a live demonstration to the Bromfield senior class of an extraction from a car after a crash. One of the local tow-truck companies provides the crashed car and two students volunteer as accident victims. The senior class watches as the Fire Department rescues the victims, including using the Jaws of Life, and the victims are treated by the ambulance crew. The demonstration typically takes place the week before the prom.
The Fire Department Log is written every other week by a Harvard Press reporter based on information gleaned from daily logs and interviews with a department firefighter.
