Based on a report given to the Board of Selectmen at the end of August, the Northborough Fire Department responded to 902 emergency incidents from January through June of this year. Those incidents can be broken down into 411 fire responses and 491 requests for emergency medical services.
The mild winter, fallen debris from Tropical Storm Irene, the Nor'Easter in October and the "abnormally dry conditions" throughout the spring made for an unprecedented forest fire danger, said Fire Chief David Durgin in his report.
"This presented a unique situation in balancing burning and public safety, with a total of 658 open burning permits issued to residents," he wrote. "Luckily, the town's largest brush fire was held to one and one-half acres."
Northborough fire also joined in a number of large-scale multiple alarm fires in Marlborough during the time period, including a seven-alarm fire that involved a six-story apartment building. Also, in Westborough, Northborough fire assisted in a four-alarm fire at an apartment complex.
The town continues to grow, continued Durgin, stating that there had been 435 inspection and 127 plan reviews conducted in this bi-annual report.
Durgin cited more than 25 major incidents that the fire department had responded to during the time period, including multiple brush fires on 290, a motor vehicle crash on 290 in Marlborough, a first alarm fire on Pleasant Street, a fire in a trash can at 210 Bartlett St., numerous outside fires at Northborough Crossing that started in the mulch, and mutual aid to Shrewsbury to provide a Rapid Invervention Team at a working structure fire.