Multi-Agency Flashover Recognition Training

    Members of the Braintree Fire Department hosted a joint training session at the Sons of Italy on Wednesday April 25, 2011. Members from the Braintree, Pembroke, Randolph, and Westport Fire Departments participated in Flashover Recognition Training today under the instruction of the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services and the use of their "Flashover Trailer" in the rear parking lot. Three teams of firefighters were brought into the specially designed trailer and were instructed by members of the DFS on how to recognize different types of flashover events when battling an interior fire.

Special thanks to the Department of Fire Services for allowing me unrestricted access during the training. 

Maybe next time, I'll get to suit up and snap pictures from inside the trailer!

Weymouth - Sacred Heart Church 7 Alarm Fire 6/9/2005

    I was browsing through some old photo albums on a back-up hard drive and came across these pictures I took back in 2005, long before I started working as a Freelance Photojournalist and before I became a member of the International Fire Photographers Association.

    This was a 7 alarm fire at the Sacred Heart church in Weymouth Landing. I was driving home from a night at Nantasket Beach with some friends when I came around a corner and saw smoking coming from the basement windows of the church. The first due companies were already on scene investigating the cause of the smoke when the flashover began. This fire quickly spread to 7 alarms as the brick structure became fully involved. It took over 100 firefighters hours to battle the blaze which gutted the 134 year old church. 2 Firefighters suffered minor injuries, and nobody was inside the church at the time of the fire. Investigators ruled that an electrical shortage in a refrigerator in the basement was what caused of the fire.

    Sacred Heart Church was originally built in the late 1800's by a group of Irish immigrants. The parish had just recently survived the reorganization of parishes by the Boston Archdiocese. The church was ruled a total loss and was torn down two days later.

Fenway Flyover w/ Bonus MedFlight Flyover

As many of you know, every year on Red Sox Opening Day, I like to venture to an undisclosed rooftop in the Fenway area and photograph the ceremonial flyover that occurs before the game. This year, I was graced with the added bonus of a Boston MedFlight flyover and landing on the BIDMC Helipad. Here are the photos as promised.....enjoy.

Turkey Crashes through Lottery Headquarters

Braintree, MA - Braintree Police responded to the Mass Lottery Headquarters at 60 Columbian St just after 5pm after employees called reporting a wild turkey had crashed through a window. Braintree Police Animal Control officer Dave Littlewood responded and found the turkey inside the lobby of the Employee Entrance. "Unfortunately he didn't make it," Littlewood said after removing the carcass from the building. "This is by far the largest turkey I have ever encountered, approximately a 40 pound male." Lottery employees reported hearing a loud crash and shattering glass before finding the turkey on the floor approximately 15 feet inside the lobby. The window, made of thick tinted double pane glass, was blown out, leaving glass scattered throughout the lobby.
Animal Control Officer Littlewood said he has been very busy due to the warmer weather this winter. "Usually it's fairly quiet between December and March, but due to the warm winter, most of the wild animals in the area have remained active," he said. "I've mostly been dealing with skunks, turkeys, and deer." After the passing of the Common Street Turkey in May of last year, Littlewood said another turkey had taken to harassing motorists at the intersection of John Mahar Highway and Plain St over the past couple of weeks. "Unfortunately, he, too, met the same fate as the Common Street Turkey just the other day."

Braintree Rollover MVA

At approximately 9:40pm on Monday, Braintree Police received multiple calls reporting a rollover car accident at the intersection of Granite St and Campanelli Drive. Upon arrival, officers found that a newer model Hyundai Sonata had struck a telephone pole and came to rest on it's roof. It was initially reported that the driver was trapped in the vehicle, but the first responding officers were able to help her out of the overturned car. The unidentified female driver sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene by Fallon EMTs and Braintree Firefighters. The force of impact caused the telephone pole to snap about 7 feet up from it's base. The Braintree Electric Light Department was requested to replace the telephone pole. It is unclear exactly how the accident occurred, and it remains under investigation by the Braintree Police.

MSP Trooper Struck - Shots Fired at Suspect

 At approximately 9am Thursday morning, a Mass State Trooper attempted to stop a vehicle that he witnessed traveling at a high rate of speed on Burgin Parkway. "The trooper activated his blue lights and siren, at which point the suspect vehicle continued speeding down Burgin Pkwy," Lt. Colonel Francis Matthews said during a press conference at the Neponset Rotary. "After a check of the vehicle's registration showed the car was stolen, a short chase ensued and the vehicle was lost in the area of Sea St." The South Boston Barracks of the State Police then received a 9-1-1 call reporting an erratic operator on the Neponset Bridge. Two Troopers working a construction detail at the Neponset rotary observed the car traveling towards them. As they motioned for the driver to stop the car, he attempted to make a U-turn and struck one of the troopers. "The troopers opened fire with their service weapons." said Lt. Colonel Matthews. The suspect vehicle was struck three times in the passenger side. "It is not known at this time if anyone inside the vehicle was hit by the gunfire," said Lt. Colonel Matthews. The vehicle then continued onto Galvin Blvd, traveling on the wrong side of the road. According to Major Thomas Grenham, "Trooper Scott Flaherty has been taken to Mass General Hospital to be treated for injuries to his ankle, wrist, back, and neck. He will be admitted overnight for treatment."
    The reports of a trooper struck and shots fired sparked a massive manhunt that led members of the State Police and Boston Police through the streets of Dorchester searching for the two suspects that were in the car. The suspect vehicle was quickly located on Dyer St after the suspects had stopped and fled on foot. Officers used K-9s and two State Police helicopters to search the nearby neighborhoods. At one point, the K-9 officers were following a scent trail that led them onto the nearby MBTA tracks. During the search, train service was temporarily halted so that officers could safely follow the trail along the tracks that run along Norfolk St. During the manhunt, police had a possible ID on both suspects. Multiple homes in the area were surrounded by police while they continued searching throughout the morning. The State Police S.T.O.P. team was called in to assist in the case that any homes needed to be searched. The southbound lanes of the Neponset Bridge and two lanes of Galvin Blvd were closed while the State Police investigated the shooting. The incident remains under active investigation by the Massachusetts State Police.