GLOUCESTER — Chief Eric Smith reports that the Gloucester Fire Department extinguished a car fire that had extended into a home last night.
On Thursday, Feb. 2, at 8:10 p.m., the fire department received a report that a car, which was parked up against a house at 2B Lighthouse Way, had caught fire.
Upon arrival, crews found that the fire had extended up the exterior wall of the house, and the vehicle in the driveway was completely engulfed in flames. The homeowners were outside and were not injured.
Firefighters from Engine 1 and Rescue 1 began working on the first floor of the three-story wood frame home, where the fire had shattered two windows and was extending into the interior of the residence.
Crews also made an aggressive attack on the vehicle and the exterior of the home, and firefighters from Ladder 1 checked the second and third floors for smoke and heat damage.
“We were able to make a quick attack on this fire from all angles to get it under control and contain the extension to the first floor of the home,” Chief Smith said. “I want to commend crews for their hard work, especially given how cold it was last night.”
No injuries were reported.
The vehicle, a 2016 BMW sedan, was completely destroyed. Damage to the home and vehicle is estimated at $50,000. The Gloucester Assessor’s Office values the home at $750,000.
The origin and cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Gloucester Fire Department, the Gloucester Police Department and State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshall
Additional Gloucester Fire Department News
Gloucester Fire Captain Graduates from Management Training Program
Left to right: Gloucester Fire Capt. Barry Aptt and State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey. (Courtesy Photo) |
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GLOUCESTER — Chief Eric Smith is pleased to announce Capt. Barry Aptt graduated from the 23rd offering of the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy’s Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program this week. The Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program helps fire officers improve their ability to lead and manage personnel and the department, provides skills to understand employees’ needs and problems, promotes personal productivity, increases the capacity to manage both human and technical resources and increases inter-agency cooperation. Capt. Aptt. graduated from the 14-week course on Thursday, Feb. 2. The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, a division of the Department of Fire Services, offers this program tuition-free. Additionally, Capt. Aptt achieved fire chief credentialing from the Massachusetts Fire Service Commission in June 2016. This program establishes benchmarks for training in fire and emergency service management so that chiefs may be better prepared to serve their department and community. “I am proud of Capt. Aptt for taking the initiative to further his training both with this management course and by achieving uniform credentialing for the level of fire chief,” Chief Smith said. “Completing these programs will allow him to better serve this department and our community.” The Chief Fire Officer Management Training Program was developed in accordance with National Fire Protection Association Standards for chief fire officers, and is delivered jointly by the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts. The comprehensive course provides training in the non-fire suppression aspects of managing fire departments. Curriculum topics include human resource management, ethics, executive leadership and legal issues, governmental and organizational structures, information management, customer-focused strategic planning, budgets and public finance, community awareness and public relations, and labor relations. To conclude the program, Capt. Aptt was required to write a research paper that identified a current problem or challenge faced by his organization and propose a viable solution. He then presented his proposal to a panel of municipal officials for their consideration. “These fire service leaders are committed to continually developing their management and leadership skills in order to provide the highest level of service to the communities they protect,” State Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey said. Thirty other graduates in the program serve the fire departments of Andover, Barnstable, Burlington, Cambridge, Concord, Dartmouth District #1, Foxborough, Halifax, Harwich, Hingham, Leicester, Lynn, Marshfield, North Andover, Northbridge, Orleans, Oxford, Plainville, Revere, Sandwich, Tewksbury, Waltham, Westborough, Westfield, Weston and Worcester |
