Rescue One pulled up to Eliot House last Friday afternoon to find smoke seeping out of a belfry.
Within two minutes, three engines full of water and two ladder trucks packed with prongs and hooks cluttered Winthrop, JFK and Dunster Streets.
Fortunately, it was a false alarm--that night's beef dinner had apparently gotten a bit too hot.
But the fast and large-scale response is telling of Harvard's location in one of the best-protected areas, fire-wise, in the country.
This past summer, with a little bit of fanfare, the Cambridge Fire Department (CFD) was classified as "ISO Class One."
It sounds like just a technical accolade, but the prestigious ranking has real consequences for Cambridge residents.
It means insurance rates for Cambridge businesses and residents will surely decline.
And it means that national experts have declared Cambridge has, on average, the best fire department in Massachusetts.
Read more in News
Mayor Advocates Wage IncreaseRecommended Articles
-
Firefighters Struggle To Control Electrical Fire in Crate & BarrelWhile many students spent yesterday afternoon outside enjoying the sunny, 60-degree weather, firefighters experienced temperatures that soared into the hundreds
-
Building Catches Fire in CambridgeDarlene D. Lin '97 was catching up on some reading in her Leverett House dorm room. Then her pager went
-
Five-Alarm Fire Obliterates ShopA five-alarm fire blazed through a Fresh Pond Parkway auto repair shop yesterday and threatened to consume a nearby gas
-
Lecture on Fire Insurance Rates at 8Mr. Henry E. Hess, of New York, will lecture on "The Proper Assessment of Fire Insurance Rates in Great Cities"
-
Blaze Guts Two ApartmentsMore than 15 familes were left homeless last night after a sevenalarm fire gutted two Cambridge St. apartment buildings. The
-
Bank Is Evacuated By False Fire AlarmA Harvard Square bank was evacuated for 25 minutes Monday afternoon while Cambridge firefighters searched for the source of smoke
