Chief: Fire Was 'A Defensive Operation' From the Start

A fire Saturday morning destroyed a house on Dominick Street, and caused damage to nearby homes.

UPDATED, 8:40 a.m.: Fire Chief John Touhey said he expected officials would be at the scene of a three-alarm fire through at least noon Saturday, as crews continued to hose down the rubble and heavy equipment was brought to the scene to remove the destroyed house. "This was a very quick collapse," Touhey said, citing the fact that the fire was going strong by the time the first engine arrived, and efforts to obtain an adequate water supply were complicated by the age and location of the nearby hydrants. The Bellingham and Hopedale fire departments helped Milford attack the blaze. The Fire Department responded sometime after 4:30 a.m. Saturday to 13 Dominick St., a single-family, two-story wood frame home in a tight neighborhood off Route …

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Annual Town Meeting 2011

Officials Review Public Safety Budgets

The police and fire department budgets were among the first reviewed Wednesday by the town Finance Committee. Increases, where they exist, are slight.

Milford annual town meeting voters will be asked to consider a slight increase in public safety spending this year, based on the fire and police department budgets approved by the Finance Committee Thursday. The proposed budgets reflect no increase in the number of personnel or new programs for either department. The increases reflect 1 to 1.5 percent raises for workers, negotiated by contract, and a sharp uptick in gasoline prices. The police budget is $4,776,566, a 2.5 percent increase from this year. Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin kept general expenses at the same level, with the exception of gasoline for the cruisers. He expects to spend $99,852 on gas this year, an 8 percent increase, which assumes the price is $3.75 a gallon. If gas …

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