Wellesley FD Part Of Response To Merrimack Valley Fires

It's unheard of for the Wellesley Fire Department or any South Shore agency to respond to fires in the Merrimack Valley area, but Thursday night's fires in Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover proved to be a great exception.

Wellesley Fire is among the agencies that's part of Structural Task Force 13B, a group of local fire departments that are assisting with the fallout from several blazes caused by a major gas emergency in the three towns, which all requested 10-alarm responses, the maximum response, at the same time.

The explosions appear to be concentrated in a one-mile square area south of the Merrimack River. While the cause of the fires could take weeks to confirm, some reports suggested the over-pressurization of gas lines contributed to the explosions. In Andover, nearly 40 fires erupted during the early evening hours.

State Police indicated that the total number of fires across the three communities is around 70. No new fires were reported over night and the situation is considered stable as of Friday morning.

Residents in all three communities were asked to evacuate and were told to not return home until they are told it's safe to do so.

The fires have lead to a large response. In addition to Wellesley, fire department from as far as Boston, Belmont, the South Shore, Foxborough, Mansfield, and New Hampshire have provided aid.

Reporting from Mike Carraggi, Dave Copeland, and Alex Newman was used in this story.

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