Needham FD Knocks Down Serious Fire with Aid from Westwood and Surrounding Towns

Needham Fire Department has knocked down a serious electrical fire that started this morning, February 4, 2022, in the basement of Harvey's Ace Hardware at 1000 Great Plain Avenue in Needham.

Needham Fire received the report of a fire in the basement of Harvey’s Ace Hardware at 9:06 a.m. It was first observed by an employee of the hardware store.

Power had to first be shut down by Eversource in order for the fire crews to respond, resulting in an outage that closed Needham Town Hall. Surrounding businesses in the square and on Chestnut Street were also out of power due to the fire response.

Needham Fire sent a full response that included twenty people from its department, and called on surrounding towns for mutual aid.

Around 10:20 a.m., Westwood Fire Department sent one engine of at least three firefighters and an ambulance for standby. Westwood Fire Chief John Deckers also responded to the scene, said Carolyn Wade, office manager for Westwood Fire.

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Dedham Fire provided station coverage at Needham Fire Station, and support was also provided by the Needham Police Department, Needham Department of Public works, and Newton and Wellesley.

The fire was extinguished around 10:30 a.m. An investigation continues into the actual cause of the electrical fire. It was confined to the area where electric service was coming into the store's basement.

Needham Fire Chief Dennis Condon characterized the incident as serious. "If we did not shut off power and get the fire out, the potential for the entire business and block to catch fire was great," he said. He noted that the hardware store contains many combustibles and that the amount of power coming into the store is tremendous.

At the time Westwood Minute spoke to Chief Condon, part of Chestnut Street in Needham was still closed to traffic. Part of that street’s closure is due to gas line work that is unrelated to the fire. Great Plain Avenue and Chapel Street are open for traffic.

After the fire was extinguished, fire response personnel and Eversource remained on scene to conduct further investigation and to address the electric outage.

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