CAPITAL AREA FIRE NEWSLETTER MARCH ISSUE 1981

Brush Fire S e a s o n

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0 {) thli) li,i>uc you new section to the called A Look at the l66ue will have a each Capital kfiea Elfie

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on the newest membefi Salisbury.

This new section will not be going In any type o {) ofide^ with the towns, It will go In oKdet when any Mutual kid town sends In thlen. fiepofit about that town OT gives me a call. 11 you would like you-'i town to be In the next Issue, please get a hold oi me.

Thank you-Jay L.Heath

CAPITAL AREA FIRE NEWSLETTER

Brush Fire Season

The Concord F i r e Department E x p l o r e r Post#642 has p r e s e n t l y taken on seven new members t o t h e E x p l o r e r Post who are as f o l l o w s : Douglas Burnham, Jim-Cournoyer, Steve Cournoyer, Dave Chase, Tom DeAngelis, Kevin McCullock, and Mark Munroe. They are p r e s n t l y g o i n g t h r o u g h a t r a i n ­i n g course o f 11 classroom h e l d at C e n t r a l f i r e S t a t i o n i n Concord along w i t h 4 P r a c t i c a l t r a i n i n g courses h e l d at t h e t r a i n i n g grounds i n Concord. The New O f f i c e r s t h i s year o f t h e E x p l o r e r Post are P r e s i d e n t Rocco C a p r a r e l l o , V i c e P r e s i d e n t # l Dave P a t t e n , Vice Pres-i d e n t # 2 Jay Heath, and Sec/Tres.Barbara-C l a r k . The New Head A d v i s o r i s former Concord F i r e Department Captain Pete Carver. Tom Gatherum, who was f o r m a l l y t h e Head Ad v i s o r has l e f t Post s i n c e September. A very s p e c i a l thanks goes t o Tom Gatherum f o r t h e many, many hours o f t i m e and d e d i c a t i o n he spent b u i l d i n g up t h e E x p l o r e r Post. His h e l p i s v e r y much a p p r e c i a t e d by t h e E x p l o r e r Post. The E x p l o r e r Post w i l l have a booth s e t up again t h i s year a t t h e Kiwanis Trade F a i r on May 14, 15, and 16th.

CORRECTION ON BOSTON FIRE

F r o n t c o v e r - M i d d l e p h o t o shows t h e f i r e t o w e r on M t . K e a r s a r g e , t o p r i g h t p h o t o shows C o n c o r d B r u s h f i r e , b o t t om.shows Pete Solomon i n M t . C a r d i g a n .

A C o r r e c t i o n was found on page 2 o f t h e January i s s u e o f t h e C a p i t a l Area News­l e t t e r . E l l i o t M.Belin has i n f o r m e d us of the c o r r e c t i o n s and are as f o l l o w s : The b u i l d i n g i n v o l v e d i n the f i r e was a 4 s t o r y brownstone, not 5 s t o r y . The l o c a ­t i o n o f t h e f i r e was 16 A r l i n g t o n and 1 Newberry .Streets, not 15 A r l i n g t o n . And the c o l l a s p e o f t h e b u i l d i n g was very minor and o n l y i n v o l v e d one s e c t i o n o f t h e t h i r d f l o o r which k i n d a sagged i n t o t h e second f l o o r .

E l l i o t M.Belin Dorchester,Mass.

NEXT ISSUE APRIL-M.AY -

A N E W C L A S S I F I E D P A G E W I L L B E A D D E D T O T H E C A P I T A L A R E A F I R E N E W S L E T T E R ^ F O R A N Y ITE M S OR I N F O R M A T I O N Y O U N E E D TO S E L L OR T R A D E , W R I T E T O D A Y T O J A Y L . H E A T H FOR M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N .

S I X E L E Y L A N E B O X 304

C O N C O R D ^ N H 03302

A Look at Sal isbury We have added a new s e c t i o n t o

t h e C a p i t a l Area F i r e N e w s l e t t e r . Each i s s u e we p l a n t o do a

r e p o r t a b o u t each C a p i t a l A r e a Town. T h i s i s s u e i s a b o u t t h e

t own o f S a l i s b u r y , t h e n e w s e s t member t o t h e Compact. Our

s p e c i a l t h a n k s t o F i r e C h i e f R o b e r t L . D u k e t t e , f o r m a k i n g

t h i s r e p o r t p o s s i b l e .

The newest member t o t h e Capi- ' • t a l Area F i r e Mutual A i d Compact - . i s t h e town of S a l i s b u r y w i t h a " - " " p o p u l a t i o n o f approx.800, under t h e d i r e c t i o n of C h i e f Robert L.- NEWEST TRUCK ( 7 4 M 2 ) 1980 GMC F R O N T MOUNT PUMPER'' D u k e t t e .

S a l i s b u r y ' s newest p i e c e o f equipment (74-M2), shown i n above photo, which t h e y r e c e i v e d l a s t August i s a 1980 GMC f r o n t mount pumper, b u i l t by Moody & Sons a t a cost o f j u s t under $50,000. T h i s p r i c e a l s o i n c l u d e d most of the equipment t h a t t h e t r u c k c a r r i e s on i t . I t has a 1000 GPM f r o n t mount pump and c a r r i e s 500 g a l l o n s o f water. At the present time the t r u c k c a r r i e s a t o t a l o f 3,000 f e e t of hose on i t . T h i s c o n s i s t s of 1600' o f 3" hose i n the main bed, and i t has 2 preconnected c r o s s l a y s of 1-3/4" hose. I t a l s o has 14 & 24" p r e -connects i n t h e r e a r as w e l l as t h e 24 connected on the f r o n t deck. The new t r u c k was put i n f u l l s e r v i c e i n l e s s than 3 hours a f t e r they r e c e i v e d i t and had checked over i t ' s pumping c a p a b i l i t i e s and o t h e r f u n c t i o n s , s t a t e d F i r e -C h i e f D u k e t t e .

The Department went w i t h t h i s s h o r t e r l i g h t e r t r c u k because we are g e t t i n g a l o t o f new homes i n the area w i t h l o n g w i n d i n g driveways some of which our l a r g e r Engine 1 c o u l d not get i n t o as we would have l i k e d , s a i d Chief Dukette. "We a l s o f e l t we c o u l d g i v e b e t t e r coverage t o some l o c a t i o n s because of t h e b r i d g e s i n the area." "We are very p l e a s e d w i t h i t ' s o p e r a t i o n and have had j u s t a couple of minor t h i n g s changed." S T O R Y C O N T I N U E D ON N E X T P A G E .

T H I S F I R S T PHOTO SHOWS S A L I S B U R Y ' S S T A T I O N W I T H A L L OF I T ' S E Q U I P M E N T OUT F R O N T , T H E D E P A R T M E N T HAS 2 P U M P E R S , 2 T A N K E R S , R E S C U E & F O R E S T R Y . W I T H T H E S E U N I T S T H E Y CARRY A P P R O X . 4 8 0 0 G A L L O N S OF W A T E R . T H E SECOND PHOTO I S OF THE F O R E S T R Y U N I T W H I C H T H E S A L I S B U R Y F I R E F I G H T E R S P U T T O G E T H E R , W I T H MANY HOURS P U T I N T O I T TO P U T I N S E R V I C E .

A Look at Sal isbury C O N T I N U E D F R O M T W O :

The photo on page two o f S a l i s b u r y ' s F o r e s t r y i s a 14 t o n 4 wheel d r i v e b r u s h t r u c k - 7 4 - 0 1 . S a l i s b u r y r e c e i v e d t h i s from Bear Brook. The men p u t i n many hours t o get t h i s u n i t i s s e r v i c e . I t has a 275 g a l l o n t a n k , and has a p o r t a b l e pump t h a t s hooked up f o r pumping o r d r a f t i n g from t h e u n i t or i n a couple o f minutes i t can be removed f o r use i n o f f t h e road s i t u a t i o n s . I t a l s o c a r r i e s hose, backpumps, and a l l o t h e r t y p e s o f f o r e s t r y hand t o o l s . C h i e f D u k e t t e s t a t e s "We're r e a l happy w i t h t h e outcome a f t e r many hours o f l a b o r t h a t were put i n t o i t . "

C h i e f D u k e t t e s a i d "With S a l i s b u r y ' s 2 Pumpers,2 Tankers, a rescue and f o r e s t r y t h e y c a r r y approx. 4800 g a l l o n s o f water'.' Our rescue a l s o i s v e r y w e l l equipped. "We f e e l a t t h i s t i m e t h a t we are very w e l l equipped f o r a town o f our s i z e .

S a l i s b u r y ' s O f f i c e r s are as f o l l o w s : C h i e f Dukette 74R1, Deputy-F r e d e t t e 74R2, Deputy Bowne 74R3, C a p t . B a l l o u 74R4, Capt.Bentley 74R6. Again we thank C h i e f D u k e t t e f o r making t h i s r e p o r t p o s s i b l e . We i n v i t e any Mutual A i d town who would l i k e t o be i n the next issue t o c o n t a c t Jay L.Heath as soon as p o s s i b l e .

CORRECTION ON DUNBARTON FIRE Updated r e p o r t f r o m C h i e f P e t e r H e c t o r

I t was f o u n d o u t by t h e C a p i t a l A r e a F i r e N e w s l e t t e r a t t h e r e c e n t C a p i t a l Area M u t u a l A i d M e e t i n g i n A l l e n s t o w n t h a t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n The C a p i t a l Area F i r e N e w s l e t t e r r e c e i v e d a b o u t t h e f i r e i n Dunbar­t o n a t t h e S t a g e c o a c h I n n was i n - c o r r e c t .

Dunbarton- E i g h t persons escaped u n i n j u r e d from a b u r n i n g 225 year o l d home and s w i f t a c t i o n by s e v e r a l Mutual A i d F i r e Departments h e l p e d p r e s e r v e what once was t h e Stagecoach I n n .

Dunbarton F i r e C h i e f P e t e r Hector s a i d the f i r e was r e p o r t e d a t 08:48 AM, a t t h e h o m e o f Charles W i l l i a m s o n a t t h e i n t e r s e c t i o n o f Banard H i l l Road and Mansion Road. Moderate smoke and water damage was r e p o r t e d i n t h e w h i t e , t w o - s t o r y c o l o n i a l home. The January i s s u e of t h e C a p i t a l Area F i r e N e w s l e t t e r s t a t e d from i t ' s i n f o r m ­a t i o n t h e f i r e had Destroyed t h e home, which i s not t r u e . C h i e f H e c t o r s t a t e d t h a t t h e f a i m l y was l i v i n g i n t h e gouse t h e same n i g h t .

F i r e f i g h t e r s b a t t l e d s e r v e r e c o l d and h i g h winds but managed t o get t h e f i r e under c o n t r o l by 09:50 AM. C h i e f Hector s a i d those f i r e departments i n v o l v e d d i d a "superb j o b " t o save t h e b u i l d i n g . He a l s o p r a i s e d the q u i c k respnce o f the Mutual A i d Compact and i t ' s g r e a t importance t o t h e town.

RODD S ROOFING COMPANY DA IAGED BY FIRE

C O N C O R D F I R E ;

On the warm evening o f Thursday,March 2 6 t h , Concord P o l i c e Sgt.Robert L i b b y i n v e s t a g a t e d what he f i r s t t hought was a brush f i r e a t t h e end o f S t o r r s S t r e e t , when he found a Working f i r e i n p r o g r e s s a t th e Rodd's R o o f i n g Company. The 3 0 - f o o t by 115-foot s t r u c t u r e was w e l l envolved, b u t f i r s t a r r i v i n g u n i t s had water on th e f i r e f i v e minutes a f t e r t h e box was s t r u c k .

The Box c a l l i n g f o r Engines 1,4,7,Ladder 1 and 5,Tank l,Car 2, and Rescue 4 was d i s p a t c h e d a t 2002 h r s . A r r i v i n g A c t i n g Deputy-P o t t e r r e p o r t e d a w o r k i n g f i r e a t 2004 h r s . F i r e f i g h t e r s then q u i c k l y p o s i t i o n e d hoses and were t r y i n g t o c o n t a i n the f i r e .

An 18 year o l d man has been charged w i t h s e t t i n g the f i r e . • P o l i c e belaeve t h a t t h e man set two f i r e s i n a c r a w l space under the 49 year o l d Warehouse. He s t a r t e d b o t h f i r e s w i t h paper. The Warehouse i s l o c a t e d a t th e r e a r o f 15 Sexton Avenue, and can a l s o be reached by a d i r t road a t th e end o f S t o r r s S t r e e t .

A Pager group was d i s p a t c h e d t o th e f i r e f o r more manpower, as the f i r e was b e i n g c o n t a i n e d . The f i r e was under c o n t r o l at 2223 h r s .

CHICHESTER BRUSH FIRES

The C h i c h e s t e r F i r e Department responded t o two s u s p i c i o u s brush f i r e s d u r i n g t h e month o f March.

The f i r s t f i r e o ccured on Sunday March 15th w i t h a c a l l f o r a r e p o r t e d brush f i r e a t th e r e a r o f P h i l l i p s Auto Sales on Dover Road. A l l C h i c h e s t e r u n i t s responded t o e x t i n g u i s h a grass f i r e which burned about a h a l f an acre o f grass. The f i r e was toned out a t 1400 hours and a l l t r u c k s were secure by 1500 hours.

C h i c h e s t e r f i r e f i g h t e r s were c a l l e d t o th e same l o c a t i o n one week l a t e r on Sunday March 22nd f o r anouther r e p o r t e d brush f i r e . Toned out a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1020 hours, a l l C h i c h e s t e r u n i t s again responded t o t h i s c a l l which i n v o l v e d 24 acres o f grass and woodlands. 61-01 from Loudon was c a l l e d t o a s s i s t a t th e scene w h i l e Epsom covered t h e C h i c h e s t e r s t a t i o n .

The f i r e was d e c l a r e d under c o n t r o l a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1130 hours. Both f i r e s are o f s u s p i c i o u s n a t u r e and are under i n v e s t i g a t i c -

Brush Fire Seag^"|M|F

BOW F I R E F I G H T E R S B A T T L E A B R U S H F I R E S E V E N M I L E S L O N G L A S T YEAR A L O N G T H E R A I L R O A D T R A C K S IN T O P P H O T O . W H A T W I L L B OW A N D O T H E R M U T U A L A I D T O W N S E N C O U N T E R T H I S Y E A R ? ? ( M o n i t o r / K e n W i l l i a m s )

Concerned about dryness and a p o s s i b l e 30-year c y c l e i n f o r e s t f i r e s t h e F o r e s t F i r e S e r v i c e has opened h a l f t h e s t a t e ' s 22 f i r e o b s e r v a t i o n towers a t t h e e a r l i e s t date i n a decade. At t h i s t i m e i t i s beleaved t h a t a l l t h e towers are now open.

Jack Sargent, c h i e f o f t h e F o r e s t F i r e S e r v i c e , s a i d o b s e r v e r s had t o open s i x f i r e t owers e a r l y i n t h e c e n t r a l and sou t h e r n p a r t s o f t h e s t a t e . The s t a t e has a l s o h i r e d p r i v i t e companies t o b e g i n a i r b o r n e f i r e watches.

S t a t e w i d e r a i n f a l l t h i s year i s about 1.5 inches below normal. "The heavy r a i n s o f February p r o b a b l y r e l i e v e d w o r r i e s o f a drought t o some e x t e n t , b u t t h e v e r y h i g h winds t h a t f o l l o w e d t h e r a i n s q u i c k l y d r i e d out t r e e s , brush and g r a s s . " he s a i d .

Anouther reason f o r worr y , Sargent s a i d , i s s t a t i s t i c s showing bad f o r e s t f i r e seasons happen about once every 30 years. New Hampshire's l a s t major f o r e s t f i r e s were i n 1953 when f i r e s t h a t broke out one weeX a p a r t d e v a s t a t e d Shaw Mountain i n Ossipee and Grantham Mountain i n Croydon.

About 40 f i r e s - w e l l above t h e average number - a l r e a d y have been r e ­p o r t e d t h i s year i n t h e stA.te, Sargent s a i d . T h i s was r e p o r t e d d u r i n g t h e month o f March. He s a i d s e v e r a l were caused by people dumping ashes from wood stoves i n t o d r y g r a s s .

Sargent s a i d f r e q u e n t l i g h t m i s t s l a s t year helped c o n t r o l f i r e s , but he gave most o f t h e c r e d i t t o f i r e f i g h t e r s and t h e obs e r v e r s i n the towers. A l t h o u g h p r e c i p i t a t i o n a l s o was low l a s t year, t h e year was cons i d e r e d normal f o r f o r e s t f i r e s , w i t h fewer than 1,000 r e p o r t e d and damage minimal.

APRIL - MAY ISSUE -SPECIAL ISSUE ON RECENT BRUSH FIRES DURINC THE

MONTH OF APRIL IN BOW. PENACOOK. CONCORD HEIdHTS. AND A CHART ON

A RUNDOWN ON BRUSH AND GRASS FIRES REPORTED IN EACH MUTUAL AID TOWN.

S H O W N H E R E FOR P H O J O O F THE M O N T H IS THE C H I C H E S T E R F I R E D E P A R T M E N T ' S FIRSi p i R E E N G I N E W H I C H W A S B O U G H T IN 1 9 3 6 , T H E S A M E Y E A R THE C H I C H E S T E R F I R E D E P A R T M E N T W A S C H A R T E R E D . T H E 193A C H E V R O L E T C H A S S I S W A S P U R C H A S E D U S E D F R O M H U C K I N ' S C H E V R O L E T FOR $ 3 2 5 . F I R E D E P A R T M E N T M E M B E R S T H E N C O M P L E T E D THE T R U C K BY B U I L D I N G THE H O S E B O D Y A N D I N S T A L L I N G A 150 GPM O B E R D O F F E R P U M P A N D A 150 G A L L O N M I L I T A R Y W A T E R T A N K .

W H I L E R E S P O N D I N G TO A H O U S E F I R E IN E P S O M D U R I N G T H E 1938 H U R R I C A N E , T H E C A B T O P OF THE T R U C K R I P P E D O F F BY A T R E E W H I C H HAD F A L L E N A C R O S S THE R O A D . T H E CAB W A S R E P L A C E D A N D THE T R U C K S E R V E D U N T I L 1950 W H E N IT W A S R E T I R E D .

S H O W N B E H I N D THE T R U C K IN T H E P I C T U R E IS C H I C H E S T E R ' S F I R S T F I R E H O U S E . T H I S W A S P U R C H A S E D IN A U G U S T OF 1936 BY S E V E R A L M E M B E R S OF T H E D E P A R T M E N T FOR $ 4 0 0 , W I T H THE T O W N O F F I C I A L L Y B U Y I N G IT A T THE 1937 T O W N M E E T I N G . THE O L D S T A T I O N S T O O D O N T H E S I T E O F T H E P R E S E N T S T A T I O N A N D W A S R E P L A C E D IN THE E A R L Y 1 9 5 0 ' S .

S E N D IN A N Y O L D P H O T O S OF Y O U R D E P A R T M E N T ' S S T A T I O N OR T R U C K S A L O N G W I T H S O M E B R I E F H I S T O R Y TO B E P R I N T E D IN T H E N E X T I S S U E O F T H E C A P I T A L A R E A F I R E N E W S L E T T E R .

S E N D T O : Jay L.Heath 6 Eley Lane Box 304 Concord,NH

03301