Lynnfield DPW Garage Damaged By Fire

A two-alarm fire broke out in the DPW shed Tuesday afternoon, behind Lynnfield Town Hall. 

Reports on social media indicated that there had been an explosion. Lynnfield Attorney John H. Kimball III told Lynnfield Patch at the scene that he had also heard an explosion and felt the ground shake at his office on nearby Main Street. 

After the fire was out, Lynnfield Fire Chief Joe Lingel told media that workers had been working on a piece of equipment and just parked it, and that soon after, flames were reported coming from the bay that had apparently contained a backhoe. 

Lingel said that he himself did not hear an explosion from the nearby fire department, but suggested that any such sounds could have been a fuel tank on a piece of equipment. After a preliminary check, Lingel reported that the fire destroyed the backhoe, and also damaged two front end loaders and a dump truck. The garage has about six bays and much of the damage seemed concentrated in the rear of the building, furthest away from town hall. 

The Lynnfield Fire Chief also reported that two firefighters at the scene were evaluated for heat exhaustion. North Reading and Wakefield also sent equipment to the scene of the two-alarm fire, while two other surrounding communities provided coverage at the town fire stations. 

"It was a tough day, very hot outside," said Lingel, adding that the DPW garage had sustained heavy structural damage from the fire.