Warren Fire Department

10/19/2026

Training remains a pivotal component of the job that we do and enhances our all-hazards readiness. Today we were fortunate enough to host National Grid and their Emergency Response Organization for a tabletop exercise on a simulated gas emergency. This event brought us as close to reality as possible allowing Chief Lavoie and Emergency Management Director McKeon to work with National Grid’s Incident Command System in a unified command posture. Over the course of 6 hours, we learned together and identified opportunities to improve response should we be faced with an emergency. A special thanks goes out to the facilitators from the Training & Exercise team, the Gas Operations team, and all of the employees who came today to provide expertise and exercise skills.

10/18/2026

The Warren Fire Department would like to congratulate 3 of our newest Junior Firefighters on being cleared to respond on calls as of today. After reviewing critical skills such as dressing hydrants, use of ground ladders, air packs and memorizing truck equipment; they are ready to go. Their very first day even had a truck run. We are very proud of these three new members. luck and be safe in your career Riley, Cam, and Thomas

09/14/2026

FYI - smoke may be visible from parts of our community.

Prescribed fire, also known as prescribed burns, uses planned fire to manage for healthy habitats. Read these frequently asked questions to learn how prescribed fire can benefit people and wildlife.

09/12/2026

08/14/2026

The Warren Fire Department is proud to announce the swearing in of three recent graduates of the Quaboag Fire Academy. This afternoon they officially joined as recruit members of the Warren Fire Department. Congratulations to Thomas Bellizzi, Riley Corder and Cameron Bennett! They will begin their recruit training this weekend and will eventually attend the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy. We wish them nothing but future success and look forward to having them as part of our team.

Chief Lavoie
Warren Fire

07/23/2026

On Wednesday, July 22nd at approximately 4:22 PM, the Central Massachusetts Regional Emergency Communication Center received a report of smoke and flames coming from 64 Southbridge Road. Based on the report, Deputy Beauregard requested a Second Alarm Assignment.

Upon arrival crews had smoke coming from the eves of a multi-family dwelling. Fortunately, the rapid detection of the fire allowed for crews to conduct a quick suppression and stop the fire from spreading further into the house. There were no injuries to residents or personnel on scene, and the tenants in all four units were displaced. We thank our mutual crews for their rapid response and assistance on scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by Troopers assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

The following agencies assisted on scene or in town for coverage. Photo courtesy of Warren PD.

Ware Fire Department
Brimfield Ma. Fire Department
Palmer Fire Department
West Brookfield Fire Department
Warren Police Department
Warren Building Inspector
Warren Electrical Inspector
Action EMS - Brimfield
National Grid Gas and Electric
Massachusetts State Police
American Red Cross

07/19/2026

Good evening,

On behalf of the Warren Public Safety agencies, we are extremely saddened to report that Mr. Blackwell has been located and has tragically been pronounced deceased.

At approximately 3:22PM, a K9 Search and Rescue team successfully located Mr. Blackwell. Search and Rescue teams have navigated terrain over the past 11 days conducting strategic searches in hopes to locate Mr. Blackwell. Undoubtedly, this was not the outcome that we had hoped and prayed for, but this discovery has been able to provide closure to the family.

We are extremely grateful for all of the local, state, and volunteer organizations that have worked extensively to bring this missing persons case to a resolution. This would not have been possible without the numerous experts in the field that provided guidance and executed this operation. We appreciate the public’s support throughout these very long and hard 11 days.

Out of respect for the family, we urge all to please keep comments respectful, or avoid commenting at all. The loss of this family has been felt by all.

Any additional inquiries should be directed to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.

Our most sincere condolences.

LT Kyle Sledziewski, PIO

07/15/2026

Thank you Central Massachusetts Search And Rescue for all of the effort you have put in and continue to put in for this search.

07/12/2026

DAY 4 SEARCH UPDATE

Additional search teams worked throughout the day today continuing the search for Mr. Blackwell, and unfortunately he has not been located.

Members across the public safety community will continue to support the family in the coming days through searches and investigative work. This remains to be a Missing Persons investigation. At this time, there will not be any regular updates on this search. We will update the community when any new information is discovered.

We appreciate the support and responses by all of the local, state, and volunteer organizations that engaged in this operation over the past few days and that will continue in the coming days. We also appreciate the willingness of the community to support. Please continue to check property and cameras, and report any new information. As efforts continue, you may see first responders conducting searches on property further away from Cutler Road. Any information regarding sightings or the potential whereabouts of Mr. Blackwell should be reported to the Warren Police Department at (413) 436-9595.

07/11/2026

DAY 3 SEARCH UPDATE

After another very long day of searching with personnel from across the Commonwealth, unfortunately Mr. Blackwell has still not been located. Numerous human detection K9 teams, ground search crews, drones, and the dive team continued operations. Tomorrow, additional Search and Rescue teams will redeploy to continue the search.

Teams have engaged with direct interviews of neighbors, additional scouring of cameras, and tracking but have not yielded any definite evidence of the direction Mr. Blackwell may have ventured.

We appreciate the numerous offers for civilians to deploy in support of the search but for specific reasons, we are continuing to discourage such. There are a couple reasons we are asking for people to avoid this. First, each search team is equipped with GPS tracking so we can maintain record of all land searched. If an unofficial search party goes out, signs such as footprints or disturbed brush may direct the search teams in the wrong direction when there is no accountability. Second, with numerous specialty K9 teams, we do not want people searching areas that could disturb scent of a person in the woods. Lastly, we would not want to see an untrained person become lost or injured in the woods which could pull resources away from the search to rescue someone. We continue to take guidance from the numerous search and rescue experts on site and are voicing their requests. We appreciate the outpouring support and offers from the community to assist. For those who are interested in becoming members of volunteer search organizations, I encourage you to look into volunteering with organizations such as Central Mass Search and Rescue or even to consider joining your local Fire Department.

As many have noticed, both numerous reverse 9-1-1 calls have been conducted and Wireless Emergency Alerts have also been sent to cellular devices in the vicinity. We appreciate the support of the community.