Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, blasting is legal and a necessary aid in the removal of rock on construction sites and for the installation of utilities. Blasting is a heavily regulated industry that requires a Permit from the local Fire Department.

Through the Department of Fire Services, the Office of the State Fire Marshal issues "Blasting Certificates of Competency and Explosive Users Certificates" to blasters and blasting companies.

The Marlborough Fire Department does not issue a blasting permit unless these documents are presented. These documents represent that the blaster is considered competent to conduct blasting operations and that his company has shown evidence of bonding and required insurance respectively.

You are entitled to a Pre-Blast Survey if the structure you own is within 250 feet of the closest borehole in the blasting site. It is the responsibility of the blaster to notify you of your right to a Pre-Blast Survey.

It is a recommendation of this department to videotape the exterior and the interior of your home or business to document a "before and after" scenario, should you be concerned with a blasting operation that is over 250 feet away.

A "Blasting Damage Complaint Form" is available during business hours at the Fire Department business office. The form must be filed within thirty days of the occurrence.

The contractor is not allowed to pick-up items that are hazardous. The tank still contains some product and is a serious fire/explosion hazard if handles improperly.

Take the tank to the City's Waste facility for proper disposal. Do not put the tank in a rubbish container or dumpster where fire or crushing may occur. A tank rupture could cause serious injury.

No, current state law does not require the homeowner to remove an underground heating oil storage tank. Tanks must be removed if they have been identified a leaking or have not been used for the previous twenty-four months.

Further, if you are selling your property, a buyer may have difficulty trying to secure financing if a tank exists. Please refer to Removing Your Underground Heating Oil Tank: A Homeowners Guide (PDF) for more information.

The Marlborough Fire Department responds to all accidents where there is suspected injury to occupants of the vehicle. When a call is received at the Public Safety Communications Center, quite often the caller does not know if any injuries have occurred as a result of the accident. Even minor accidents cause "whiplash" or other injuries. Sometimes, the reason for the accident is a medical condition that caused the operator to lose control of their vehicle. To that end, all accidents are considered serious and require a response of medical personnel. The Fire Department also has a stake in the protection of the environment. The department supervises the clean-up of fuels, oils and coolants that may affect our natural resources.

The Marlborough Fire Department operates three fire stations located throughout the City. All of our staff are trained in emergency medical procedures.

During a medical emergency, seconds count!

The response of the closest fire engine in an emergency brings trained firefighters to your home or place of business in minutes. Most times, the fire engine is closer to the call than the ambulance. Emergency lifesaving equipment, such as, oxygen, cardiac defibrillators, and epinephrine are carried on the fire engine. This response, together with the paramedic ambulance personnel, contributes to a quality emergency response.

The fire engine response is beneficial in many ways. It provides for immediate medical intervention, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, enough personnel on the scene to provide for supervision of the patient and scene, and the ability to aid the paramedic ambulance personnel while they administer drugs or other life-saving measures. We assist with the movement of a stretcher throughout the building, especially on stairways or when slippery conditions are encountered. It is necessary to have more than two ambulance personnel to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, especially when moving the patient. Teamwork is the name of the game and your wellbeing, qualified medical evaluation and intervention is the mission of the Marlborough Fire Department.

This is a value judgment. Only 3% of detectors are likely to fail in the first year, and annual replacement would be very expensive, so that doesn't make sense. At 15 years, the chances are better than 50/50 that your detector has failed, and that seems too big a risk to take. Manufacturers' warranties for the early detectors typically ran out in 3 to 5 years. So, in ten years there is roughly a 30% probability of failure before replacement. This seemed to balance safety and cost in a way that made sense to the responsible technical committees.

If a 30% failure probability still seems too high, remember that replacement on a schedule is only a backup for replacement based on testing. A national study found that when home smoke detectors fail, tend to fail completely. Regular monthly testing will help discover detector failure as well as a dead or missing battery.

The same study showed all the inoperable detectors tested in 1992 were at least 5 years old and predated a 1987 change in product standards that reduced sensitivity to reduce nuisance alarms. Changes in detector chip design, among other improvements, make it likely that electronic failure now occurs at a rate much less than 4 times per million hours of operation.

Replacing detectors after 10 years protects against the accumulated chance of failure, but monthly testing is still your best means of making sure detectors work. Today's detectors are even less vulnerable than the older models to failure.