Police & Fire

The north end “mystery property” has been revealed. According to documents on the town web site, Brattleboro will be considering an option to purchase the Brattleboro Reformer’s building at 62 Black Mountain Road to renovate as a police station.

The north end option would be secured initially through March 31 with a $20,000 payment. Total cost, if the town decides to make the purchase, would be just under $750,000. Total cost with renovations would be just over $4 million.

The Brattleboro Selectboard will be discussing options for going forward with the Police and Fire facility upgrades at their regular meeting Tuesday night.

From the Police Log: 

July 20, 2015

Officer J. Hamilton

On July 17th 2015 at approximately 1300 hours Officers of the Brattleboro Police Department investigated a hit and run on a pedestrian in the area of the intersection between Elliot St., Frost St., Bridge St., Williams St. and Union St. The operator of the vehicle was described as having should-length blond hair. The vehicle was described as a green Honda Civic with a Vermont plate on the back only. Anyone with information about the suspect operator or vehicle please contact the Brattleboro Police Department at (802)257-7950.

Last night’s showers did little to ease the dry conditions in the area. The State of VT and local burn ban is still in effect until May 19 or until it is revoked or extended.

The burn ban means that there is no burning until the order is revoked or expired.

Michael Bucossi
Fire Chief
Brattleboro Fire Department
103 Elliot Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
(802) 254-4831
www.brattleborofire.org

Date of Incident: May 4, 2015
Location of Incident: Near 493 Melchen Rd

Nature of Call: Brush Fire

Time Reported: 12:54 pm
Time Under Control: 5:29 pm

Number of Alarms and Times Upgraded:
1st alarm @ 1:06 pm;
2nd alarm @ 1:10pm;
3rd alarm @ 1:18 pm

Today the weather service issued warnings about brush fires. It’s dry, windy, and and generally ideal circumstances for a brush fire. And that’s what happened.

Nearby, a brush fire at 493 Melchin Road has grown into a 4 alarm affair, with 50 acres going, according to the mutual aid folks and observers at a fire tower in Massachusetts. Brush trucks and tankers from all over the region have been called in.

The size of the fire has grown considerably. 50 acres at 3:30 p.m; 10-15 acres going closer to 2:30.

A reader in West Brattleboro writes to alert us to the recent wave of break-ins in West Brattleboro, and sent along this summary of a conversation with the Brattleboro Police sent out in a West Brattleboro Association e-mail, for details:

A $10,000 reward is now being offered in the fatal hit-and-run of Eugene Narrett, a 64 year old father who was killed Friday, December 6, 2013 around 7pm while crossing Western Avenue near Union Street in Brattleboro, Vermont. Eugene was an artist. He was showing his paintings at Gallery Walk, when his life ended in the blink of an eye. The driver who hit him was going so fast, police say Eugene was knocked right out of his shoes. He died from his injuries at the scene.

Elliot Street, Brattleboro, Feb 22, 2015

I just watched you get arrested.

The waitress noticed it first.

Oh, wow, she said, someone is getting arrested

And I saw two policemen talking to you while

one of them pointed something in your face.

With the recent large snowfalls and more in the forecast in the coming days, the Brattleboro Fire Department would like to urge all residents to check your roofs and shovel them as needed. In the past couple of weeks we have received 2+ feet of snow, the weight of inches or feet of snow on even the sturdiest roof can cause structural or leakage problems.

One of the biggest problems is when the snow melts a little and then re-freezes.  This melting and re-freezing causes ice to form on the top of the snow pack, creating even more weight.  If you do not get the heavy weight of the snow off a flat roof before the melting and freezing occurs, you could wind up having structural issues and possible collapse. Flat roofs pose the biggest threat of collapse. 

On Friday evening, February 6, 2015 at 5:27pm the Brattleboro Fire Department responded to a reported kerosene heater explosion at 27 Brattle St. The 2nd floor front apartment, in the four unit apartment building, received extensive heat and smoke damage in the 2 alarm fire. Two occupants of the building received injuries, one treated for smoke inhalation, the other for minor burns.

A joint investigation by the Brattleboro Fire and Brattleboro Police Departments over the weekend has determined that the cause of the fire to be accidental. The investigation has revealed that there is a strong possibility that the wrong type of fuel was accidentally used in the heater.

As we get our first large snow storm of the year here are some winter safety tips from the Brattleboro Fire Department;

Make sure you always have two separate exits out of your house and that are clear from snow or ice.

Be careful when shoveling snow. Over-exertion can bring on a heart attack – a major cause of death in the winter.

The National Weather Service is warning of cold temperatures for much of this week. Wind chills will be below-zero at times and could be colder than 20-degrees below zero Wednesday night into Thursday. Those temperatures have the potential to pose a danger to health and property.

Some steps to take to keep yourself, your family, your pets, and any elderly or homebound neighbors safe during cold weather:

Monitor weather reports and plan ahead.

Be a good neighbor. Check with elderly or disabled relatives, neighbors, and friends to ensure their safety.

My partner witnessed an accident on Brattleboro Road- 119 and Old Brattleboro Road this evening at twilight. If he hadn’t slowed down he would have been involved. But he saw a car driving really fast down Old Brattleboro Road and that made him cautious. Then he heard the impact and then… 

We don’t know if everyone survived the accident. One car was on it’s roof and partly up a tree. I hope it was not a terrible as it looked. 

Robyn Flatley

December 4, 2014 For most of us, the holiday season represents a time for family festivities and good cheer. What few of us consider is that the holiday season is a time when there is an increased risk of home fires. Many households engage in holiday activities that serve as some of the leading causes of home fires, including cooking. Christmas trees, candle usage and holiday decorations also significantly contribute to the seasonal causes of home fires. Add to that the hectic nature of the holidays, when people are trying to accomplish multiple tasks and the chance for home fires grows even more.

Brattleboro Police and BS&L report a robbery at the bank this afternoon.

Brattleboro Police Captain Mark Carignan tweeted “Robbery at downtown Brattleboro bank. One suspect in custody. No other suspects at this time. No injuries reported. Press rlse later today.”

Over the past five days the Brattleboro Fire Department has responded to two (2) fires that have been caused by the improper disposal of wood ashes.

As we move into the heating season, the use of wood stoves, fire places and pellet stoves will be on the increase. The Brattleboro Fire Department would like to remind all residents that even though wood ashes may seem to be cooled, it is common that they retain enough heat to ignite other combustible materials for several days. Residents are asked to review and follow these easy guidelines;

Dispose of wood ashes in a metal container that can be tightly closed, douse with water, place the closed container outside your home away from combustible materials and leave in the container for several days before disposing of them.

The Brattleboro Fire Department would like to remind residents that when you turn back your clocks this Saturday night, Nov. 2, you should also change the batteries in all smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

According to the department, 83% of all fire deaths occur in the home. The majority of those occur at night when people were asleep in homes without working smoke alarms.

To the Citizens of Brattleboro,

I have been approached numerous times and asked about my philosophy on policing and the direction I will lead the Department. I would like to take this opportunity to express my thoughts on policing and the role of the Brattleboro Police Department within this community.

I am a very strong advocate of community involved policing. This concept is not new, these are not my original ideas, and most importantly it’s certainly not a list of activities which you go down and check off the boxes as completed. It is a value system which permeates the department.

The Brattleboro Police-Fire Facilities Building Committee will meet on Thursday, October 16, 2014, at 4:00pm in the Hanna Cosman meeting room at the Municipal Center.

Jan Anderson
Executive Secretary
Brattleboro Town Manager’s Office
(802) 251-8100

Working smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference in a fire. That’s the message behind this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives:  Test Yours Every Month!”

Along with fire departments and safety advocates nationwide, the Brattleboro Fire Department is joining forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) during Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 5-11, to remind local residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home and testing them monthly.