Marblehead Fire Chief Jason Gilliland expects the department's new $1.2 million quint ladder truck will arrive at the station sometime next month. While we wait to see it up close, here's some proof that the fire apparatus successfully made the journey from the Pierce Manufacturing Plant in Appleton, Wisc., to Foxboro. A big thank you to Gilliland for sending along the photograph above, which was taken in the parking lot outside of Gillette Stadium. Marblehead Patch will be posting updates as information becomes available.
Here are the first pictures of the Marblehead Fire Department's new state-of-the-art quint ladder truck, which is expected to pull into the station on Pleasant Street before the end of the month. Marblehead Fire Chief Jason Gilliland was nice enough to send along the photographs attached to this post, which were taken on a recent trip to the Pierce Manufacturing plant in Appleton, Wisc. When the new apparatus arrives, the department's worn-out 1987 Mack Pumper will be taken out of service. The name "quint" means five, and refers to the five functions that a quint provides: pump, water tank, …
Marblehead Fire Chief Jason Gilliland was pleased to report Wednesday that the department's new $1.2 million 100-foot aerial quint ladder truck is nearly complete and is expected to arrive in town next month. On March 4, Gilliland will make one last trip to the Pierce Manufacturing plant in Appleton, Wisc., to inspect the department's new apparatus. "We have to crawl in and under every part of that truck for a final inspection," Gilliland said. "Then we will hire a driver to bring it here." Gilliland said he expects the new ladder truck will drive through the front doors of the Marblehead …
A fire that damaged the Pleasant Street building that houses the Bang Tin Metal Art Gallery Thursday afternoon has left two tenants temporarily homeless, fire officials said. Shortly before 4 p.m Thursday, Marblehead firefighters responded to a structure fire at 124 Pleasant St. and battled through some extremely cold weather to put it out. Although local fire crews were able to snuff out the fire before it consumed the building, Fire Capt. Michael Porter said there was just no way the upstairs tenants could remain in the building. "The Light Department showed up and cut the power and when …
Marblehead firefighters extinguished a structure fire that broke out in the building that houses Bang Tin Art Gallery on Pleasant Street Thursday afternoon. The fire was first reported around 4 p.m. and is believed to have originated somewhere in the basement, Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said. Fire Capt. Michael Porter said local fire crews did great work battling what proved to be a difficult fire in spite of extremely harsh weather conditions. The Bang Tin Metal Art gallery occupies the first floor of the building and the second and third floors are separate housing units. It is unclear …
Marblehead Fire Chief Jason Gilliland put it plainly Monday morning. "We will never tell anybody that the ice is safe in Marblehead because we are dealing with spring-fed fresh water ponds," he said. "Those ponds, in my opinion, are never safe." Despite warm temperatures, local police officers responded to several reports of residents venturing out onto the ice in town over the weekend. At 2:49 p.m. Saturday, police responded to Pond Street for a report of kids out on the ice. Their parents were advised that the ice was unsafe, according to the log entry. At 3:06 p.m. Saturday, police …
Fire apparatus from numerous North Shore communities, including Marblehead, were called to assist with a three-alarm fire that broke out in a home on Andrew Road in Swampscott Thursday morning. It took more than 50 firefighters about two hours to extinguish the blaze, which resulted in the displacement of a family of six and the death of the family dog. --- Area residents have been rallying in support of the family since news of the fire first broke. Click Here for information about how you can contribute to help the family. --- A Swampscott firefighter was reportedly injured while working to…
Local fire officials are still investigating the cause of a particularly dangerous two-alarm fire that broke out in the basement of a McKinley Road home early Thursday morning. At 8:25 a.m., a sanitation worker aboard a trash truck who was making his usual rounds through the neighborhood reportedly noticed that dark smoke was coming from the home's windows and called 911. By the time members of the Marblehead Fire Department arrived on scene, the fire was already spreading to the rest of the house, fire Capt. Michael Porter said. After putting out a call for mutual aid, firefighters from …
Marblehead firefighters knocked down a two-alarm fire that broken out in a home on McKinley Road Thursday morning. The fire, which was first reported around 9 a.m., is believed to have originated somewhere in the basement, according to scanner reports. Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said the cause of the fire is still under investigation. McKinley road has been reopened to traffic. We'll post more as we learn it. For breaking Marblehead news as it happens, sign up for the Marblehead Patch newsletter.
If you have spare change filling up in the center console of your car, or in that jar on the kitchen counter, get it together and consider putting it toward a worthy cause this Wednesday. Marblehead Fire Department firefighters will be out in force tomorrow accepting donations as part of the “Fill the Boot” campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Local firefighters will be stationed at the intersection of Ocean and Atlantic avenues, at Crosby's Market and at Village Plaza. The annual effort is aimed at supporting the hundreds of children and adults affected by progressive muscle …
The Marblehead Fire Department should have their new 100-foot heavy-duty aerial quint ladder truck in the early spring, Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said Thursday. A little over a month ago, Gilliland traveled to Wisconsin to review and approve the final construction plans for the department's new quint ladder truck, which is currently being built by Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, Wisc. The estimated delivery date, he said, is March 25. At a meeting in June, the town's Board of Selectmen unanimously approved awarding the $1,051,904 contract to Pierce. And while he waits for the department's …
The following press release was issued by Fire Capt. Michael Porter: St. Stephen's Nursery School, 67 Cornell Rd., Marblehead, recently held a Children's Safety Day at the school. Parents were provided with a CD of their child's fingerprints, picture and information. Police and fire officials from Marblehead talked with the children about safety and showed them the police car and fire truck.
The following press release was issued by Fire Capt. Michael Porter: The Marblehead Fire and Police Departments will join departments across the country in conducting a remembrance ceremony on Sept. 11 at Memorial Park to commemorate the eleven-year anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks and the subsequent losses suffered at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. This ceremony, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. sharp, will be part of a nationwide salute to fallen firefighters, police officers and civilians, and to the extraordinary response to tragic events that …
The following letter was read aloud at the Board of Selectmen's meeting at Abbot Hall Wednesday night: To Jeff Chelgren, Town Administrator: On Wednesday, July 25 we were involved in a boat fire on the Marblehead side of Salem Harbor. Our boat was a complete loss, however, due in part to the work of the Marblehead Harbormaster and Fire Department, no one was hurt. Both teams responded quickly to the incident and were able to put out what seemed to us a large fire quickly. Without these teams there is no doubt the situation could have greatly escalated. It also should be noted that Brendan …
Local police and firefighters rushed to the scene of a boat fire that broke out next to the Village Street Pier shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday night. Although they initially called for the support of the Beverly Fire Department's pumper boat, that request was cancelled shortly after it was made. The fire reportedly burned part of the pier and was knocked down by local firefighters with the support of the Marblehead and Salem Harbormasters. The first emergency responders to arrive on scene reportedly found the boat fully engulfed in flames, according to scanner reports. A woman who reportedly …
Two exemplary members of the Marblehead Fire Department were promoted to the rank of fire captain during a ceremony at Abbot Hall Wednesday night. Before a crowd of fellow firefighters, family and friends, Gregg McLaughlin and Jeff Martin were sworn in at Wednesday's meeting of the Board of Selectmen. Prior to being sworn in, Fire Chief Jason Gilliland told those in attendance why he felt both men were well-prepared to become the department's newest captains. Martin was the first to step in front of the Spirit of '76 and take the oath. "Jeff is the type of firefighter that most chiefs can …
Fire Capt. Michael Porter was nice enough to send along these two photographs, taken during the rescue of a local cat Sunday afternoon. With the help of one of the department's ladder trucks, firefighters in Group 3, led by Capt. Betsy Wilson, successfully retrieved the cat and returned it to its owner.
The Marblehead Fire Department's request for a new $1.2 million quint ladder truck was unanimously approved by the some 600 local residents at Town Meeting Monday night. Before those gathered within the Performing Arts Center at Marblehead Veterans Middle School put it to a vote, Fire Chief Jason Gilliland took to the podium in an effort to explain how a state-of-the-art ladder truck would help local firefighters better-serve town residents. "This purchase is costly, but in my professional opinion as your fire chief, it is necessary," Gilliland said. "The department's apparatus committee and …
Members of the Marblehead Fire Department have been fine-tuning their ventilation skills by training on an adjustable "roof prop" that was recently constructed alongside the fire station on Pleasant Street. The roof prop was designed with replacement partitions so firefighters could repeatedly saw panels out at varying pitches. "The nice thing with this is prop is we can wench it up to whatever angle we want and replace the surface of it so we can have them working on gravel, tar and slate roofs," Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said. The purpose of the ventilation training, Gilliland said, is to …
Members of the Marblehead Fire Department were hard at work Tuesday afternoon, putting together an adjustable "roof prop" that will help local firefighters hone their venting skills. The roof prop, which will be mounted on the side of the fire station on Pleasant Street, was designed with replacement partitions so firefighters could repeatedly saw panels out at varying pitches. "The nice thing with this is prop is we can wench it up to whatever angle we want and replace the surface of it so we can have them working on gravel, tar and slate roofs," Fire Chief Jason Gilliland said. The purpose …
