Firefighters paid tribute to a fallen soldier on Friday October 24
Firefighters from across the North Shore came to pay their respects with thousands of others to fallen Army Specialist Stephen R Fortunato on Friday October 24. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
Fire damaged kitchen at 10 Russell St
At 0421 on the 15th, Engine’s 1,3 and 5 were dispatched for a report of a house fire at 10 Russell St. Upon arrival, Engine 5 found smoke coming from the 1 story wood frame home and the lone occupant was outside of the building. The crew advanced an attack line into the building and knocked down fire in the cabinets above the kitchen stove.
Although the fire was knocked down quickly and minor fire extension was located and extinguished, the occupant of the home found himself temporarily trapped in his bedroom. When the occupant tried to get out of the home he found that the smoke was too intense to get through to the front door and climbed out of his bedroom window to get out. He was transported to Beverly Hospital for assessment. The smoke detectors in the home alerted the occupant to the fire.
Deputy Chief William Walsh is investigating the cause of the fire which appears to be accidental in nature.
Edge manager Captain Jeff Sirois watches Firefighter Steve Grant as he is lowered during a demonstration at the Beverly Fire Department Open House October 11.
Open House Success
The Beverly Fire Department held its annual Open House on Saturday October 11. The event included demonstrations of the Jaws of Life and High angle Rescue. Nearly a thousand people attended the event which lasted four hours. Those that came were also treated to free pizza,donuts, hot dogs and soda.
Check out the photo gallery for additional pictures.
Chief Pierce Commends Eight Firefighters On Monday October 6, Firefighters, Police Officers and EMS crews rushed to the Methodist Church on Dane St where they encountered a distraught individual making his way to the ridge of the roof. Firefighters and Police Officers made several attempts to get the man from the roof but he avoided all attempts and skirted his way back and forth atop the ridge of the roof roughly 40 feet in the air. With no formal training specific to the type of incident that was presented, crews worked together to calm the man from the ground while the best course of action was formulated. In the end it was determined that sending a firefighter up the Beverly Aerial to try to talk to the man was the best course of action until a second ladder, coming from Danvers, could arrive at the back end of the building. When the Danvers Ladder was set in place, the man climbed onto the Ladder and made a motion to leap from the other side. As he did that, the fire Captain that had climbed the aerial to talk to the individual quickly made his way over to the man and grabbed him by the belt and pants forcing him into the ladder until two Danvers Firefighters reached him and were able to take the distraught man down to the ground. “Working in cooperation with Beverly Police, Northeast Regional Ambulance personnel as well as Danvers Firefighters a successful outcome was achieved” wrote Chief Richard Pierce, “The fact that this was achieved with no injuries is because of your dedication to training and the fire service always working together as a team” he continued. The commendations were issued to
Deputy Chief William Petrosino
Firefighter Steven Grant
Captain James Maggiacomo
Firefighter Brad Saunders
Captain Peter O’Connor
Firefighter Mike Zarbano
Firefighter Brian Latulippe
Firefighter Brian Mahan
A letter commending Firefighters Brian Barry, David Mondi, and Craig Vesey was also sent to Danvers Fire Chief James Tutko for their professional actions while setting up their equipment and then retrieving the man as he was subdued by Captain O’Connor from the roof. Beverly Police Chief Mark Ray was also sent a message of thanks commending all of his officers for a job well done.
Man on Roof
At 1324 on October 6, the Beverly Fire Department was dispatched for a report of a person possibly positioning himself to jump from the church at 2 Dane St. When Deputy Chief William Petrosino arrived, the man was attempting to climb the roof to its highest point but was unable to get good footing on the steep pitch. Deputy Petrosino ordered Ladder 1 to extend its ladder to the roof and firefighters and police officers climbed the ladder in an effort to coax the man onto the ladder. As the ladder neared, the man reached the peak and shuffled to the edge of the roof nearest Dane St. Firefighters repositioned the ladder and the man shuffled to the other side of the roof. While responders waited for a second Ladder truck to arrive from Danvers, a Beverly Firefighter attempted to speak to the man from the Beverly Ladder tuck now perched approximately 20 feet from the victim. As time went on, the man sat on the edge of the roof without speaking more than a few words to the firefighter.As the Danvers Ladder arrived and began to set up, the man began to move along the edge of the roof appearing to slide away from the edge. When the tip of the Danvers Ladder reached the roof, the man moved onto the ladder and appeared as though he was going to climb down. As Danvers firefighters were climbing to meet the man, he made an attempt to jump over the side of the ladder. The Beverly Firefighter working on the roof quickly slid over and grabbed the man by his belt and held him down in the bed of the ladder until Danvers Firefighters got to him and assisted him safely to the ground where he was handed off to Beverly Police Officers and Paramedics from North East Regional Ambulance. The man was taken to Beverly Hospital for evaluation.Chief Pierce lauded the efforts of all of the firefighters and emergency workers at the scene. “This was particularly dangerous scene, but everyone worked together in order to make sure that the man got to the ground safely”. Firefighters Brian Mahan and Brian Latulippe worked to properly position the ladder while crews from Engine 1 assisted at the rear of the building. Firefighters David Mondi and Craig Vesey climbed the Danvers Ladder to bring the man to the ground. All fire department personnel were clear of the scene by 1426.
