GRAFTON — The all-volunteer Grafton Fire and Rescue has had a busy March, as the town's firefighters responded to several situations, including a two-alarm house fire at 91 Stiles Rd. on March 12.
Nobody was home when the fire broke out that evening, and Grafton's crew were among the 30 firefighters who arrived from around the region to put out the blaze.
Firefighters gave a social-media shout-out to Amber Stevens, head of the Auxiliary, who made sure volunteers hydrated after she spread sand around the engine and did some traffic control on the street.
“Also, thanks to Diane Thompson for having coffee and soup for us when we returned to the firehouse,” the firefighters posted.
On March 16, Grafton Fire and Rescue attended to a motor vehicle fire “with a structure exposure about 12 feet away,” according to the team's Facebook page.
The very next day, firefighters responded to a call to extinguish a chimney fire.
The team posted a picture of Lieutenant Nathaniel Noyes removing the house's chimney cap, along with an admonishment: “This can be dangerous season for use of a wood stove between the winter build up of creosote and burning the stove low due to mild weather.”
“Please, check those flues and keep them clean and don't take anything for granted,” the firefighters warned.
In addition to fighting fires within its own territory, Grafton Fire and Rescue also participates in mutual aid requests, either by helping fight larger fires in other towns, or covering possible fire-and-rescue needs while the other town's department is answering a call.
The latter occurred on March 6, as reported by the team on Facebook: “A full crew responded to cover Rockingham first thing this very cold morning (about –5) while their firefighters were at the 4 alarm fire in Chester.”
Safety warnings
The rescue team also shared a post from their “friends to the north,” the Chester Fire Department.
Accompanying four photographs of melted household electrical devices, the CFD's post offered this public service announcement: “Yesterday afternoon, Chester Fire Department responded to a partition fire caused by an electrical malfunction.
“Upon arrival, crews cut power at the main breakers and overhauled the wall ensuring all fire was out. Please remember to never use extension cords with electric heaters.”
Another tip that Grafton Fire and Rescue recently shared on social media: at the twice-yearly time change, change the batteries in your home's smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
As the department wrote on their Facebook page: “Thankfully, we get called out when one of these [detectors] fails more often than when there is an actual emergency.”