For Immediate Release

Friday, Sept. 6, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-742-3922
Email: ben@jgpr.net

Enfield Fire District 1 Responds to Six Calls in 32 Minutes During Wednesday’s Storm

To view a video of the fire caused by downed wires click here.

ENFIELD, Connecticut — Fire Chief Edward Richards reports that Enfield Fire District 1 responded to six calls within the span of about a half hour during a heavy thunderstorm Wednesday night, Sept. 4.

One of the calls involved a fire caused by downed wires in the road on South Road.

The on-duty crews’ shifts had ended at both stations prior to the calls, so the incidents were handled by the volunteer/call members of the department and the call back of duty crews at both Stations 1 and 2.

The six calls were as follows:

•  5:09 p.m. – Fire alarm at an occupied day care center, 1537 King St. The call turned out to be storm related and there was no fire emergency.
• 5:13 p.m. – Wires down on South Road near Phoenix Avenue with a report of an active fire on the ground next to a utility pole. With live wires near the road, firefighters needed to remain at the scene for an hour and a half until the issue was resolved, further tying up resources.
• 5:13 p.m. – Fire alarm at an occupied four-story office building, 100 Phoenix Ave. The call was storm related and there was no fire emergency.
• 5:16 p.m. – Fire alarm at an occupied industrial building, 120 Post Road. The call was storm related and there was no fire emergency.
• 5:34 p.m. –  Smell of gasoline reported at the urgent care center located at 54 Hazard Ave. After investigation, it was determined to be because of a fuel spill at a nearby gas station.
• 5:41 p.m. – Fire alarm at an occupied warehouse, 107 Phoenix Ave. that turned out to be a storm related power loss. Due to the size of the building and alarm, firefighters were required to search the entire 300,000-square-foot building for signs of smoke or fire. The warehouse had multiple alarm systems and fire pump activated. Ultimately no fire emergency was found.

Engines 12, 14 and 15, Truck 12 and Rescue 11 were used to handle multiple calls. For the call at 54 Hazard Ave., Hazardville Fire Department call Engine 31 responded to assist due to EFD apparatus still clearing from the earlier calls.

“This was great work by our firefighters who responded to several calls within a short period of time during an intense thunderstorm,” Chief Richards said. “While most of these calls turned out to be false alarms, many of them required a full response by our firefighters due to the size of the buildings and their locations. Thankfully there were no major fires or injuries.”

In addition to the six calls, shortly after the storm had passed, Enfield Fire District 1 firefighters also responded to two serious medical calls for an infant having convulsions at 6:47 p.m. and an unconscious man in need of CPR at 6:48 p.m.

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