Police and Fire News

Dennis fire; Sandwich crash; Bourne crashes; Yarmouth crash; Car vs building in Brewster; Busy afternoon in Sandwich; Hyannis mulch fire

New overnight: Early morning fire damages Dennisport house

    ^{A retired Worcester Fire Lt used a garden hose to save a Dennisport home from total destruction.}
DENNISPORT - Shortly before 2 a.m. Friday, the Dennis Fire Department responded to the report of a structure fire at 51 Bassett Lane off of Shad Hole Road. A next-door neighbor, an 86-year-old retired Worcester Fire lieutenant, saw flames coming out of the window, reported the fire and then fought the blaze with his garden hose until firefighters arrived. Dennis Fire Captain Richard Farrenkopf stated that the incident was held to a first-alarm assignment with no difficulty. Reports at the scene indicate that the fire might have started under the kitchen sink. Dennis Fire and Police investigators are working to determine the exact cause of the fire, which left the kitchen of the unoccupied single-story wood-frame structure heavily damaged. No injuries were reported.
Story and photos by Kevin Morley.

New overnight: Car vs pole in Sandwich
SANDWICH - Motorists may experience delays along Route 6A Friday morning after an overnight crash. Just after 2:30 a.m. a vehicle snapped a utility pole on Route 6A at Gully Lane. The driver was not seriously injured but was reportedly detained by police. We'll bring you further details as we get them.

Two crashes in Bourne
BOURNE - A crash on Sandwich Road near the Upper Cape Tech School about 8 p.m. shut down the road for a time. There was no immediate word on injuries. Meanwhile shortly after 9 p.m. three vehicles collided on Route 25 eastbound. It was reportedly a rear-end chain reaction type collision. No one was seriously injured.

Willow Street crash
YARMOUTH - A two vehicle crash on Willow Street at Higgins Crowell Road sent one vehicle onto the adjacent train tracks. Yarmouth Police say a man apparently saw the red light in his direction too late and hit the brakes but struck a car driven by a woman sending it onto the tracks. No trains were in the area and both drivers were taken to CCH with only minor injuries. Traffic was slowed for a time.

Car vs building in Brewster
BREWSTER - Officials were called to the scene of a reported car into a garage in Brewster late Thursday evening. Firefighters were called to 648 Stoney Brook Road about 5:30 p.m where a car struck the garage pushing it off the foundation and slightly damaging a vehicle inside. The woman driving the car suffered only minor injuries while a man in the garage escaped injury. The crash is under investigation by Brewster Police.

Water rescue, crash keep Sandwich rescuers busy
SANDWICH - Sandwich firefighters had their hands full for a time Thursday afternoon. Reports came in around 3 p.m. of a raft starting to float out to sea. All parties were reported to have made it to shore safely. Meanwhile one person was seriously injured in a single vehicle crash at about the same time on Chase Road at the bottom of the ramp from exit 4. Firefighters had to extricate the driver of a white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck who was taken to Cape Cod Hospital with serious injuries. At right: rescuers remove the victim fron her pickup. Note the starring on the windshield upper left.
Photo by Bryan Joseph.

Hyannis fire a reminder of cigarette dangers with mulch
HYANNIS - Hyannis firefighters work quickly to prevent a fire from spreading to condo units Thursday. The fire began in bark mulch outside the Yachtsman Condos on Ocean Street around 1 p.m. Fire officials believe a carelessly discarded cigarette started the fire. Condo residents were evacauted as a precaution. Mulch fires are an all too common occurrence. A similar incident led to an entire Peabody apartment complex being destroyed in May. Cape firefighters respond almost daily to similar but smaller fires especially outside commercial buildings. Officials urge smokers to think twice before dropping that butt.
Photo by Frank Paparo.

Dennis PD hosts AAA "Older and Wiser Driver" seminar
SOUTH DENNIS - The Dennis Police Department, in conjunction with AAA of Southern New England, is sponsoring a two-hour seminar titled "The Older and Wiser Driver."
The course, developed by AAA, will focus on topics of interest to senior drivers including tips on night driving and developing strategies on reaching your destination safely.
The seminar will be held on Thursday, July 10, 2008 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dennis Police Station, 90 Bob Crowell Rd. South Dennis.

Attendees need not be AAA members and there is no fee for the seminar. You can sign up by calling or e-mailing either Sgt. Peter DiMatteo at 774-352-1435, pdimatteo@town.dennis.ma.us; or Ptlmn. Jim Sullivan at 774-352-1503, jimsullivan@town.dennis.ma.us.
Story by Kevin Morley.

Traffic detours slated due to 4th of July parades, fireworks
CAPE COD - Parades in several Cape towns will cause parking retrictions and traffic detours. In Chatham starting at 03:00 a.m. on July 4, 2008, "NO PARKING" restrictions will go into effect. The area affected is the Main Street Downtown Business District from the Rotary/Old Harbor Road to the intersection Main Street and Shore Road. There will be NO PARKING on the Town Hall side of Main Street. No chairs will be allowed on Main Street until AFTER 02:30 a.m.

Beginning at 08:00 a.m. there will be a one-way (southbound) traffic pattern on Shore Road, from Old Harbor Road to Main Street. This will remain in effect until the end of the parade proceeds onto Main Street.

The downtown business area will be closed to ALL motor vehicle traffic at 08:30 a.m.

The intersection of Route 28, Main Street and Crowell Road will be closed at 09:00 a.m., and ALL inbound traffic will be detoured onto Crowell Road and Queen Anne Road.

"NO PARKING" signs, traffic cones and barricades will be placed at various locations along the parade route and surrounding streets. Uniformed Police Officers will be posted to assist with traffic.

Police are asking for the public's patience and cooperation during this annual 4th of July parade event.

Meanwhile in Provincetown parking on Commercial Street from the far east end to Franklin Street will be banned from 9 a.m. until the parade has passed. The parade starts at 11 a.m. Friday. Provincetown's fireworks start Friday at 9 p.m.

Orleans will shoot their fireworks off Saturday evening. Vehicles attending the fourth of July fireworks in Orleans should park to the right of the roadway as you exit Rock Harbor. Vehicles entering Rock Harbor from the Orleans Rotary prior to about 6:00 p.m. can park at the Orleans Council on aging parking lot, or will be directed through Rock Harbor and parked on the right side of the roadway facing out of Rock Harbor towards Main Street. Vehicles entering the Rock Harbor area from Main Street may also want to park at the Skaket beach parking lot. Any traffic wanting to go to Rock Harbor from Main St. will be directed through the harbor and parked on the right side of the roadway facing out of the harbor towards the Orleans rotary. Any vehicle parked illegally will be ticketed or towed. At the conclusion of the fireworks, no traffic will be allowed into Rock Harbor from either Main Street or the rotary until all fireworks traffic has exited. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Lt. Kevin Wells @ (508)-255-0117.