2006 was the Bedford Fire Department’s busiest year to date.  We saw an increase in our serious calls, such as fires, medical emergencies, and hazardous conditions.

Over the past year, we saw fires in one of our newest houses in town and in one of our oldest.  The following are a few highlights that illustrate the diverse challenges we faced last year:

• February 2006 – 10,000-gallon gasoline tanker rolls on side at a service station, partially rupturing the tank
• April 2006 – 3-alarm fire in a new house (home had only been occupied for two weeks)
• April 2006 – Chemical leak resulting in injury at a research & development facility
• July 2006 – Motor vehicle crash involving a dump truck resulting in heavy extrication and two fatalities
• August 2006 – 2-alarm fire in a multi-family home originally constructed in 1761
• December 2006 – Multiple trash fires at Bedford High School

Fire Suppression / EMS

2532 Calls for Service
2005: 2229 (12% increase)

46 Fires
2005: 44 (4% increase)

7 – Building fires

9 – Mutual aid to the fire

6 – Contained cooking fires

9 – Vehicle fires

1239 Rescue/Medical Responses
2005: 1149 (7% increase)

930 - Medical responses

208 – Mutual aid medical responses

100 – Motor vehicle accidents

151 Hazardous Conditions
2005: 124 (18% increase)

11 – Flammable/combustible liquid spills

36 – Natural gas leaks

79 – Wires arcing and/or down

206 Service Calls
2005: 232 (11% decrease)

32 – Lockouts

29 – Water Problems

42 Good Intent Calls
2005: 51 (17% decrease)

17 – Smoke scare/Odor of smoke

355 False Alarms
2005: 317 (11% increase)

198 – Alarm Malfunctions

53 – Smoke detector activations with no fire

31 – Carbon Monoxide detector activations with no fire

EMS Mutual Aid

208 – Bedford Rescue responded to surrounding communities
2005: 179 (14% increase)

155 – Received medical mutual aid
2005: 181 (14% decrease)

47 – Billerica ambulance

34 – Burlington ambulance

16 – Concord ambulance

55 – Lexington ambulance

High-Response Locations

• Bedford Veterans Administration Hospital accounted for 131 emergency responses

• Carlton Willard Village (excluding townhouses) accounted for 54 responses

• Avalon Bay (new 139 unit apartment complex occupied in April) accounted for 10 emergency responses

• Prescott Farms (new 55 single-family home subdivision currently under construction) accounted for 5 emergency responses in 2006

Apparatus

Engine 1 – 1588
2005: 1470 (7.5% increase)

Ladder 1 – 414

Rescue 2 – 852
Placed in service May 4, 2006

Rescue 1 – 454
Placed in reserved service May 4, 2006

Car 3 – 322
Including 166 smoke detector inspections

Hazmat Trailer – 2

Fire Prevention

669 Permits

46 – Commercial Plan Review

43 – Fire Alarm Permits

71 – Sprinkler Permits

26 – Storage Tank Removal Permits

458 Inspections

72 – Final Inspections

22 – Oil Burner Inspections