A Davidson fire engine rushes by on Jackson Street on night recently, with siren and lights all running. (Alex Wasowicz photo)

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Davidson Fire Department, including calls for gas leaks, outside fires, cooking fires, and hazardous chemicals. Last Saturday, Davidson firefighters called for help from a Charlotte Fire Department hazardous materials team after detecting hazardous gases in a June Washam home, where carpet-cleaning chemicals had been used. Other calls included cooking fires and malfunctioning alarm systems at Davidson College. A tally of the past two weeks’ 28 medical calls may be found below, as well. Meanwhile, in case you were wondering, that siren and loudspeaker announcement Thursday morning on the Davidson College campus was a test.

The department also co-hosted the 30th Annual North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade, which had 2,831 participants on Dec. 1. (See a photo gallery, Dec. 1, 2012, “Christmas Parade: 2,831 marchers, thousands of watchers”

And keep an eye out on the main streets of Davidson Sunday night, between 6 and 8:  Word is that Santa will be making his annual pre-holiday inspection on a fire truck.

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Firefighters responded to several incidents related to the cooling weather over the past two weeks, including two involving gas fireplaces, and one outside fire that damaged a heat pump. Dust from construction was blamed for a fire alarm at The Community School of Davidson High School, and three trapped passengers were freed from a malfunctioning elevator in the Davidson College student union. Details on these stories and more (along with a tally of the past two weeks’ medical calls) may be found below. Read the full story

Updated Friday, 7:29am
I-77 southbound was closed near Exit 30 in Davidson Thursday night because of a multiple-vehicle accident just south of the interchange. Nobody was seriously hurt in the wreck, but a fuel spill kept the road closed for about 90 minutes, and one lane remained blocked until the early hours of Friday, the NC Department of Transportation said. Read the full story

Over the past week, firefighters responded to several traffic accidents, including one in the McConnell neighborhood where a Jeep drove into a house after sideswiping another car. On Riverwest Court in River Run later in the week, firefighters had to put out a fire in a portable toilet that spread to a 50-foot x 50-foot swath of vegetation. And they also checked on an odor of natural gas on Harbor Place Drive, which turned out to be  lanterns outside of a restaurant. Also below, details of other incidents, a report on Saturday’s training fire in Cornelius, and a tally of the week’s medical calls. Read the full story

Cornelius and Davidson firefighters will conduct a joint training exercise on Saturday, Nov. 3., burning a vacant house on Field Street near the Antiquity neighborhood for practice. The training is expected to run from about 9am to 4pm. Read the full story

<img src="http://davidsonnews.net/files/2012/10/102912Filltheboot.jpg" alt="davidson firefighters filled the boot" title="102912Filltheboot" width= Tips How Your Ex Girl Friend Back “590″ height=”277″ class=”size-full wp-image-66537″ /> Davidson firefighters asked drivers for donations Oct. 20 at the annual “Fill the Boot” drive on Main Street. The campaign raised more than $800 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)Firefighters responded to a number of vehicle collisions over the past 10 days, including an accident on I-77 at Exit 30 in which a passenger had to be extricated with hydraulic tools by emergency workers and flown by helicopter to a hospital in downtown Charlotte. Read the full story

Drivers waited while traffic was stopped for the Saturday afternoon wreck. (Wendi Amos photo)

A woman driver was seriously injured and had to be airlifted to the hospital in Charlotte Saturday afternoon after her car ran into the rear of a nearly stopped tractor-trailer.  The wreck happened around 1:45  p.m., and forced the closure of I-77 near Exit 30 in Davidson.

Car overturns on Davidson-Concord Road. Details below.

Both lanes of the highway were closed briefly while an emergency helicopter landed to evacuate the unidentified woman, according to Davidson public safety officials. Read the full story

An outside fire was reported at the intersection of Pine and Church Streets in Cornelius last week. Davidson firefighters who responded found a homeowner burning brush, a reclining chair, and a sofa in his back yard. The resident was advised that burning rubbish is illegal and emergency personnel extinguished the fire with a garden hose. Davidson also helped Mount Mourne Volunteer Fire Department with a fire on Deerwood Lane in Mooresville. A construction crew broke a water main on Park Forest Street a week ago, prompting a call for firefighters. Smoke from an outside grill that wafted into a fraternity house prompted an emergency response to Davidson College on Oct. 12. Details on these and other incidents and a tally of the week’s medical calls may be found below. Read the full story