Category: MFD

MERRIMAC — Fire Chief Ralph Spencer and Police Chief Eric M. Shears report that a major fire destroyed an apartment building Friday morning.

Police officers and firefighters responded at 8:43 a.m. to the Greenleaf Park apartments, located at 1 Greenleaf Drive for an activated fire alarm. Fire was evident immediately upon arrival, and Working Fire, Second Alarm, and Third Alarm responses were requested in rapid succession, sending additional units and mutual aid to the scene.

One woman was trapped inside a second floor unit and jumped at the urging of Merrimac Police Officer Robert Coppola into his arms and was brought to safety. She was taken to Anna Jaques Hospital for evaluation.

The four-unit apartment building is considered a total loss. High winds fed the fire and necessitated a large response of personnel and apparatus. Chief Spencer praised the professionalism of the firefighters and other first responders at the scene, and is pleased to report that no civilians were seriously injured. The fire was contained to the original building and did not damage any other buildings in the complex.

Five people were displaced in the fire. Chief Spencer estimated the damage at $1 million.

The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation by the Merrimac Fire Department, Merrimac Police Department, and State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey’s office.

The building did not have sprinklers, as it was built before they were required.

The Merrimac Fire Department received extensive mutual aid from neighboring agencies and the Seacoast Chief Fire Officers Mutual Aid District, which send firefighters from throughout the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Seacoast to assist. Mutual aid was received from: Amesbury, Salisbury, West Newbury, Newburyport, Newton (New Hampshire) and East Kingston (New Hampshire) while fire units from Groveland, Georgetown, and Plaistow (New Hampshire) covered the Merrimac Fire Department during the incident.  The State Fire Marshal’s Office rebab unit also responded.

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MERRIMAC — Chief Ralph Spencer is pleased to announce that the Merrimac Fire Department has purchased a new life-saving automated CPR device.

Merrimac Fire recently purchased the LUCAS 3 Chest Compression System, which performs consistent, accurate chest compressions without experiencing fatigue, as humans do when performing CPR.

The device costs $15,000 and was purchased through generous donations from local businesses and fundraising efforts by the department. Salter Bus Company, Rick and Eric Fournier of 1st Payroll and Haverhill Bank all contributed funds toward the life-saving device. Merrimac Fire personnel Will Howard, Shane Sevigny, Nichole Richard, Kris Smith, Brandon Cox and Jay Fournier spent a month fundraising the rest of the money to purchase the machine.

“During my 30 years in the fire service, I have always been impressed by the ability of members of the fire service to see a need and get things done to meet that need,” Deputy Chief Greg Habgood said.

Firefighters were trained on how to use the device on July 25 at the Merrimac Fire Department.

“I am very proud of the job this committee did to raise funds to purchase the LUCAS device and am thankful for the generous donations from our local businesses,” Chief Spencer said. “While we hope that we never have to use this machine, we have added a modern, state-of-the-art tool as a resource to keep our community safe.”

The LUCAS device will be stored on Merrimac Fire’s front-line ambulance, which is the primary ambulance that responds to medical calls.

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The Merrimac Fire Department, as part of Fire Prevention Week, are reminding residents to check and change their smoke alarms, which are the first line of defense in the event of a home fire.

Fire Prevention Week runs from Oct. 9-15. This year’s focus is to remind residents to replace smoke alarms every 10 years, through the “Don’t Wait: Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years” campaign.

According to data from the National Fire Protection Association and the United States Fire Administration, the public has many misconceptions about smoke alarms, which may put them at an increased risk in the event of a house fire. Here are three key messages residents should know regarding smoke alarms:

• Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.
• Make sure you know how old all the smoke alarms are in your home.
• To find out how old a smoke alarm is, look at the date of manufacture on the back of the alarm. The alarm should be replaced 10 years from that date.

Working smoke alarms cut the risk of death in half in reported home fires. When a smoke alarm fails to operate, it is usually because the batteries are missing, disconnected, or dead.

According to the United States Fire Administration, three out of five home fire deaths in the United States were caused by fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms between 2009-2013.

There are two types of smoke alarms: ionization and photoelectric. Each type of technology is designed to alert you to fire or smoke conditions. An ionization smoke alarm is generally more responsive to fast, flaming fires and a photoelectric smoke alarm is generally more responsive to slower, smoldering fires. For the best protection, or where extra time is needed to awaken or assist others, both types of alarms, or combination ionization and photoelectric alarms are recommended.

The National Fire Protection Association reports that, on average, seven people die in U.S. homes fires per day. Cooking equipment is the leading cause of home fire injuries, followed by heating equipment. Smoking materials are the leading cause of home fire deaths. Most fatal fires kill one or two people, however in 2014, 15 home fires killed five or more people resulting in a total of 88 deaths.

For more information on smoke alarms and this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, visit www.firepreventionweek.org.

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