EARLY ON an interior fire attack was attempted but Captain Robert Abraham quickly realized that conditions were untenable and ordered an evacuation. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Robert T. Sullivan, age 36, who had reported back to duty from home on the general alarm, became disorientated in the heavy smoke and did not evacuate. (Murray Young Photo)
This Looking Backward Special was written by retired Fire Chief David L. Parr, who was among those who fought the fatal blaze mentioned below.
Monday, March 11, 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of a general alarm fire that ravaged a block of stores in downtown Wakefield resulting in the tragic line of duty death of Wakefield Fire Lieutenant Robert T. Sullivan.
381-383-385 Main Street was a one-story brick block of stores located on the west side of Main Street at the corner of Albion Street in the heart of Wakefield Square, now the site of the Rockland Trust Bank. The block included three stores: 381 Main was the Ames Rexall Drug Store; 383 was occupied by Florence’s Women’s Fashion Store; and 385 was Ray Parker’s Men’s Clothing Store. All these stores were long time established Wakefield businesses.
March 11, 1974, which was also a Monday evening, was dry with a temperature hovering around freezing. At 10:55 p.m. a passerby noticed smoke coming from the Florence’s Fashion Store, the middle store in the three-store block, and pulled Fire Box 35 located right in front of the block at Main and Albion streets. The response to Box 35 was Engine 3, Engine 4, and Ladder 1 from headquarters just a block away on Crescent Street with Captain John M. Riley in charge, and Engine 2 from the Greenwood Fire Station.
It was quickly evident that there was a serious fire brewing as smoke started pushing from all parts of the business block, with the windows to Florence’s black and hot! As firefighters stretched hose lines, Chief Walter V. Maloney, Jr. arrived and a second, and general alarms were ordered. Mutual aid fire engines from Reading, Stoneham, Melrose, Saugus, Lynnfield and North Reading raced to the fire. Once hose lines were in position, the stores were ventilated, and the smoke and fire conditions intensified.
Early on an interior attack was attempted but Captain Robert Abraham quickly realized that conditions were untenable and ordered an evacuation. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Robert T. Sullivan, age 36, who had reported back to duty from home on the general alarm, became disorientated in the heavy smoke and did not evacuate. Firefighters re-entered the building on three occasions in search of the lieutenant, but rapidly intensifying fire and intense smoke conditions forced them to back out.
The fire quickly spread to the attic area and throughout the business block. A tin ceiling hampered efforts to expose the fire in the attic. Firefighters venting the roof were forced to quickly evacuate their position, leaving their saws behind. The problem now facing Chief Maloney was the potential of the fire spreading to the Colonial Spa building (now Cravings), and the 3-story wood frame commercial/residential building behind the fire block on Albion Street. Chief Maloney shifted to an exterior defensive fire attack requesting the Malden and Medford water tower trucks.
The fire attack went on for hours, with the business block devastated, but the fire was prevented from spreading to the other buildings. Lieutenant Sullivan was still missing. It was not until 7 a.m. Tuesday morning that firefighters were able to enter, locate and remove the lieutenant from the basement where he apparently fell attempting to evacuate. Exhausted firefighters in tears lined the rear alley as the lieutenant was carried from the building.
The fire devastated the community of Wakefield and the Wakefield Fire Department. Hundreds of firefighters from all over New England and townspeople turned out for the Lieutenants funeral. Led by the Boston Fire Department Honor Guard, firefighters marched from Main Street, up Centre Street to Crescent Street, past Fire Headquarters to Water Street, and Water Street to Butler Avenue to St. Florence Church. Engine 2 and Engine 4 were used as flower cars with Engine 2 staffed by Firefighter Ronald Robbins and Lieutenant Fred D. Graham, Jr, and Engine 4 staffed by Firefighters Ray Pitts, Tom Collins, and Bob Thompson.
Fire Department Chaplain Rev. William Coughlin celebrated the funeral Mass at St. Florence Church, followed by burial at Forest Glade Cemetery. Pall bearers were members of Lt. Sullivan’s shift, including Captain Donald C. Jacobs, Firefighters William Pepe, Thomas Crusco, Roger Wenzel, William Wenzel, Lee Bayrd, Joseph Tecce, James Greelish and David Cerullo.
“Bobby” Sullivan was a 12-year WFD veteran from a legendary Wakefield Fire Department family. His father Thomas was a call firefighter, his uncle Daniel was a lieutenant that died in the line of duty in 1948. His brother John “Dinty” Sullivan was a firefighter who suffered a line of duty fatal heart attack in 1968, and his brother Warren was an active firefighter who led the search for his brother that fateful night. The Sullivan brothers were widely known as tough, aggressive firefighters.
The tradition continues today as Bobby’s sons Michael and Danny, who were 10 and 8 years old at the time of the fire, both became Wakefield Firefighters. Michael Sullivan is now the Fire Chief and is approaching 40 years in the department. Danny recently retired from the department.
The cause of the fire was never determined, but it was NOT associated with the string of arson fires that plagued Wakefield in 1971-1972.
Coincidentally, just prior to the fire that Monday evening, Wakefield Town Meeting approved $56,000 for the purchase of a new fire pumper and $96,000 for a new 100-foot aerial ladder truck.
