Between June 24 and June 30, the Harvard Fire Department responded to one car fire, an accidental alarm at the Bromfield School, and two requests for help with smoke detectors.
Monday, June 26
An Ayer Road resident called at 3:04 p.m. to report a smoke detector that wouldn’t stop beeping. A firefighter cleaned and reinstalled the detector and returned it to normal function. At 6:35 p.m. the department was called to a car fire on Route 2 westbound. The driver reported smelling smoke, pulled her car into the breakdown lane, and got out. Eight Harvard firefighters responded, and Littleton sent an engine with four firefighters. The firefighters had to close Route 2 westbound for about 15 minutes until the fire was under control. The firefighters used both water and chemical fire extinguishers to put out what they identified as an electrical fire in the dashboard. The car was towed. The firefighters were back at the station at 8 p.m.
Thursday, June 29
Eight firefighters responded to an alarm at the Bromfield School at 8:30 p.m. They found that the alarm had been set off accidentally by the cleaning crew. The firefighters reset the system.
Friday, June 30
At 6:25 a.m. a Quarry Lane family called about a beeping smoke detector. The family waited outside for the Fire Department to arrive. The officer who responded found that the smoke detector was dirty; he cleaned and reinstalled it, and it began working normally.
FIRE DEPARTMENT FACTOID
Four Harvard firefighters are also licensed pyrotechnicians and work at fireworks displays across Massachusetts. Harvard firefighter Wally Shaw led the technicians that set off the fireworks at Fruitlands this year.
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.
