Granite Grill Gets Outdoor Seating, Braintree Fire Trains with Citgo

Pending approval by state alcohol regulators, will be able to serve customers outside this summer after the Braintree Board of License Commissioners approved six tables with three seats each.

During its Tuesday afternoon meeting, the board also heard from Fire Chief Kevin Murphy, whose department conducted an exercise at 's Quincy Avenue facility last week to test its foam firefighting capability.

The fire department and Citgo agreed to the training and split its cost after several weeks of negotiation over a modification of the company's flammable storage permit, allowing it to store non-petroleum based fuels. Murphy provided final approval of the modification on Tuesday based on what he called a successful exercise.

"It was an exercise that was a long time coming," Murphy said. "It was well worth the effort."

Since applying for the license change last November and consulting with town officials, Citgo has purchased nearly $17,000 worth of hose and a pump that can produce different proportions of alcohol-resistant foam of the kind that can battle an ethanol blaze. Petroleum fire, for instance, requires a 3 percent foam mix, while ethanol needs 6 percent.

On June 5, Citgo personnel and 25 Braintree firefighters, along with Quincy and Holbrook firefighters, injected a training foam – meant to stand in for a mixture specific to fighting ethanol fires – into pipes that run from the ground a distance away from the tanks, up the side and into the top of the tanks. 

A second exercise involving a deck gun that shoots foam outside of the tank environment was not included last Tuesday because glitches delayed the training, Murphy said. In particular, some of the equipment that distributes the foam had been put together incorrectly by the manufacturer and had to be fixed.

Citgo is now tasked with creating a training pamphlet with standard operating procedures, Murphy said, and must also purchase some additional 5-inch hose. More training will take place in the fall or next year.

"It's a work in progress," Murphy said.