Recently in Fires Category

Billerica is at the scene of a 2-alarm fire at the Faulkner Mill, 67 Faulkner St., where it sounds like there is a fire in the roof.

Firefighters have it contained in a portion of the roof, according to radio broadcasts.

I went to the scene but couldn't really see anything since the fire appears to have been on the Concord River side of the building.

The fire was knocked down by 7:30 p.m., and under control by about 7:50 p.m., according to fire department radio broadcasts.

No immediate reports of injuries and no word on a cause so far. All the commanders were inside the building while I was there so I couldn't find anyone to talk to for more specifics.

Firefighters were in quite a hurry tonight after they got a call for a car fire at the VFW Hall on Plain Street, across from the new Target store.

Firefighters got the call about 8, after a white, Chevrolet van caught fire while parked right next to the entrance of the VFW. Within a minute or two, the van was fully engulfed, and burning hot enough to melt some siding above the door of the veteran's club.

A one alarm fire was declared as a precaution, but Engine 1 soon got to the scene and put out the fire before further damage was done.

The van, which was full of equipment from a cleaning business, was a smoldering wreck at the scene, but it appeared a little melted siding was the only damage suffered to the VFW Hall.

Firefighters said there was no immediately obvious cause.

Plain Street was closed in front of the VFW while screws put out the fire and cleaned up.

It sounds like Billerica Fire did some nice work on a fire at 34 Elsie Ave., this afternoon.

Police and fire got the call about 5:57 p.m.

Police were on scene at 5:59 p.m., and reported heavy smoke showing and everyone out of the home.

Fire got to the scene two minutes later at 6:01 p.m., and reported smoke and fire showing.

I started driving that way since fire showing on arrival often means a pretty bad fire is underway, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear a Deputy Chief radio in at 6:06 p.m., to report the main body of the fire was knocked down.

Crews are still checking for extension and overhauling, but it sounds like this one is well in hand.

I'll seek some more details once crews are all back in their stations. Police radio broadcasts indicated the fire started in the kitchen.

While typing this, I just heard the call "fire is out" here at 6:23 p.m.

No really, though, this one is pretty ridiculous.

I read the press release I just got from the Hudson Fire Department a little skeptically. A 2008 Toyota Tundra caught fire today near a home at 9B David Drive, about 1:49 p.m.

Firefighters found the truck fully involved, and eventually the gas tank failed and gas was introduced into the fire. Probably pretty intense to watch, but still just a car fire.

Until you get to the "most probably cause," as stated in the press release.

"It appears that two bags of wood shavings from a previous job the owner was at... spontaneously combusted..."

For the record, Hudson firefighters say the best way to store wood shavings is in a metal container, and that they should be disposed immediately, and soaked with a hose before disposal.

Hudson firefighters were busy today too. At 6:14 p.m., they went to 43 Lowell Road to put out a fire in "an upright pork cooker" at the Zheng Garden Restaurant,. It was a one-alarm fire that caused no injuries.

Firefighters say a lack of maintenance inside the pork cooker alloued the sauced used on pork ribs to build up to a point that allowed flames to be produced.

Police in Dracut, Pelham, and Lowell were all on the lookout for a fully marked 1994 Chevrolet Impala that was spotted in Pelham Wednesday night, being driven by a guy with his hat on backwards, according to police radio broadcasts.

The search started about 8 p.m., when a Pelham detective saw the car on Route 38, near the Hannaford shopping plaza in a left turn lane with it's turn signal on. The car then went straight, though, catching the detective's eye.

The car even has an official, blue, fire department license plate, according to police radio broadcasts.

After some initial fears that the car was stolen, it was determined that it was a surplus car, no longer in use by Lowell Fire, but still owned by the city.

It had been loaned to a company involved in filming a movie, and was at an auto-body shop in Pelham to get a new paint job. Pelham Police said they eventually found the car back at the shop, though they declined to identify the shop.

It appears an employee of that auto-body company decided to take the car for a drive. Sources told me no one was supposed to be taking the car for unauthorized jaunts around town, though. No charges will be filed.

The City of Lowell was generous enough to loan out an old surplus car for the movie, but Lowell Fire Department officials were not amused last night, and ordered the car towed back to Lowell immediately.

Score this one a disqualification.

Before anyone gets all excited though, I'd like to make a personal note, that I very often see a list of government agencies in movie credits, where they're thanked for providing assistance to film crews. I don't think this type of thing is terribly uncommon.

If you went through the Lord Overpass this afternoon you probably saw that Middlesex Street is closed at the overpass by a police cruiser. There's a one-alarm fire at Crow Electrical, 590 Middlesex St., but no reports of injuries.
I went down to the scene and it looked to be mostly under control, they already had fans up to get smoke out of the building.

If you noticed all the smoke in the sky over the area Saturday afternoon about 4:45 to 5 p.m., don't worry, it wasn't a house or a business. It was, however, a fairly large recreational vehicle that caught fire along I-495 north, just north of Route 133.

The fire was just over the Tewksbury line in Andover, but Tewksbury fire still went since their ambulance passed the fire while on another call. I heard in radio dispatches that Dracut Fire was also out investigating where all the smoke was coming from after a caller reported it to them.

It was quite a plume of smoke, and it was very black. I noticed it while heading into work from the ER at Lowell General Hospital. (My girlfriend was fine, have no fear).

State Police tell me they had to close two northbound lanes of the highway for about a half hour while crews took care of the fire. Channel 5 is reporting that the RV exploded after it caught fire, but I got no answer at Andover Fire so I can't confirm that.

No one was hurt. The RV was owned by Richard Leone, 57, of Tewksbury, police said.