On Wednesday morning all three Tri-town Fire Departments responded to calls for service all within the same hour, and all unrelated.
Rochester was the first to be called when a fire alarm sounded at Old Colony High School just after 9am. The cause of the fire alarm was found to be an issue with a generator, which tripped when the school lost power. As soon as the hazard was found the students were brought into the gymnasium to stay warm while awaiting resolution. Power to the school was restored in short time but NSTAR Electric reported that some of the residential customers in the area might experience power losses while they work on the cause of the issue.
The Mattapoisett Fire Department was the next to be called just thirty minutes after Rochester’s call. The MFD was called to a home on Beacon Street where a contractor dug up a gas line to a home. The residents of the home were evacuated and NSTAR gas was called to the scene. Within fifteen minutes the gas to the home was shut off and the Fire Department then checked the home for residual gas levels.
While Mattapoisett was responding to their emergency the Marion Fire Department received a Fire Alarm activation from Taber’s Baxter Dorm on Front Street. The Marion Fire Department was on scene quickly and reported that the alarm was due to a system malfunction and there was no hazard on the scene. As the Marion Fire Department clearing the call on Front Street they were then called for a second fire alarm activation, this time at 41 Mill Street, Marconi Village. The caller who reported the call stated that they had a smell of smoke near one of the apartments on the first floor at that location. The Fire Department found that one of the residents had burnt food, which activated the alarm. The apartment was quickly vented and the alarm reset.
By Paul Lopes
