Fire Log: Bag of Ashes Catches Flame

The following information was provided by the Westwood Fire Department.

The residents of a Gay Street home had a small pre-holiday scare last week, as a bag of ashes that was placed on the hearth of their home caught flame, according to the Westwood Fire Department.  Fire crews responded to the Gay Street home at around 2:10 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 19, after receiving a report that a bag of ashes, which had been cleaned from the fireplace at the home, were placed in a paper bag that was filled with cardboard and other paper materials.  The ashes were reportedly not completely extinguished, and caught flame while in the paper bag, which had been sitting on the hearth of the home.  Because the fireplace was so large, 95 percent of the smoke from the small flame drifted up the chimney, fire officials said, and as …

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Fire Destroys Camp Building on Westwood-Dover Line

No injuries were reported in a fire that destroyed a building on the border of Westwood and Dover on Wednesday.

A building on the grounds of the Jewish Community Center's Grossman Camp was burnt to mere ashes and rubble, after a fire destroyed the structure Wednesday afternoon. Fire officials from Westwood, Dover and Medfield responded to the one-alarm fire before 5 p.m. Wednesday, when they were eventually able to get the fire under control and extinguished.  The Grossman Camp lies on the Westwood-Dover line, and utilizes about 75 acres of land from Hale Reservation; the building that was ignited was used for storage and camp activities, according to fire officials. No one was inside the building at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported. A cause for the fire is still being investigated. Bu the damage was done, both to the building and…

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Westwood Fire Log: Kitchen Fire at Hillcrest Place

The Westwood Fire responded to a grease-induced kitchen fire over the weekend.

Grease from the inside of a pan was to blame for a kitchen fire inside a home at Hillcrest Place on Saturday morning, according to Westwood Fire officials.  The Westwood Fire Department responded with two fire engines and one ladder to Hillcrest Place at around 9:53 a.m. on Saturday. The fire was extinguished by the time the Fire Department arrived, but the home had been filled with smoke as a result of the flames, which Westwood Fire determined to be a moderate smoke condition.  "It did damage the microwave and the microwave had to be removed from the house," said Westwood Deputy Fire Chief Roderick Morrison.  The ladder remained at the scene for an extra few minutes to help rid the home of smoke, and the Fire Department declared the …