PHOTO BY PAULA MULLER
Firefighters continue to put out the blaze at 11 Linden Ave. in Swampscott on Saturday.
Swampscott’s Fire Department opened the month of July and ended it battling two significant fires. The Bay View Drive blaze that burnt two homes drew in fire crews from Swampscott and surrounding towns. Last Saturday’s Linden Avenue house fire brought firefighters to the scene of a blaze subsequently determined to be arson.
Firefighters by definition are trained to fight fires. That’s a no-brainer But it’s rare for a fire department in small town like Swampscott to extinguish a five-alarm fire and a fire alleged to have been set in a relatively short time period.
Fire Chief Kevin Breen’s crews overcame congested work conditions and water service problems to contain the Bay View Drive fire to two homes. July 3rd’s dry, hot weather presented firefighters with the risk of a rapidly-spreading blaze. But Swampscott firefighters attacked the fire and eliminated its threat without loss of life or injury.
Last Saturday’s fire left a town firefighter requiring medical treatment. According to a court prosecutor’s testimony on Monday, the home’s owner poured gasoline inside the house and lit the fuel. The resulting explosion blew out the home’s windows and responding firefighters, according to court testimony, found the man standing outside the house laughing about the blaze.
The lesson learned in Swampscott last month is any decision to downgrade public safety spending involves risk. Breen and his crews arrived on Bay View Drive and Linden Avenue ready and equipped to put out deadly fires and attempt to minimize property damage.
Fires in smaller communities are relatively rare, although Swampscott has seen its share in the last two years. Even big cities have seen reductions in fires in recent years with public safety campaigns and safer construction contributing to the reduction.
But any Massachusetts chief will readily point out the number of deadly fires ignited across the state in 2015 and 2016. Education efforts and even public appeals by chiefs urging residents to reduce fire threats have not stemmed from deadly blazes.
A firefighter’s typical day tends to revolve around responses ranging from medical emergencies to accidents. But departments ranging in size from Swampscott’s to Lynn’s must always be ready to be a first and last line of defense against the death and destruction a fire can sow before it is checked.
Fire departments can attack fires and save lives and property if they are equipped with the resources they need to provide that defense.