Belmont Fire Log: Cooking the Checks

Snow trippin'

Feb. 11 – At 1:40 p.m., Engine 1 was sent to the corner of Bradley Road and Gordon Terrace because a fire alarm street box had been "tripped" – someone had pulled the alarm. Upon investigation it was determined that a resident shoveling snow very close to the box somehow hit it with his shovel or the snow. When the department tested the box, the fire alarm was working slow. The crew made a temporary fix for the street box while calling the Belmont Municipal Light Department to take a look at town equipment. 

What do you serve with a bank draft?

Feb. 11 – About a quarter to midnight, fire personnel rushed to a Gilbert Road two-family house for a reported building on fire. When they arrived, the occupant had just used a fire extinguisher to put out a small but growing fire in his kitchen. Here's the story: apparently, the occupant was burning cancelled bank checks on the stove(!) – not a recommended use, according to appliance manufacturers – and using the fan above the range to ventilate the smoke. But the flames rose quickly and melted the filter and the plastic blades of the exhaust fan. The occupant stopped the fire with a ABC fire extinguisher as the crews arrived. Firefighters used a thermal-imaging camera to check for fire in the walls and luckily found none.

A little left out

Feb. 16 – A little after half 'til 3 p.m., Engine 1 was sent to a two-family on Elm Street for a person who had locked themselves out of their home. Firefighters got inside by climbing up to the second-floor deck and opened the unlocked door.