The tower that stands in the woods off Woonsocket Hill Road might not look like much these days, but it has a long role in the state’s firefighting history.
Peter Branconnier, who visits the site regularly in his capacity as director of the North Smithfield Emergency Management Agency, said the steel structure is tagged with graffiti and the woods around it are torn up with makeshift ATV trails. The chain link fence around the tower, he said, is often cut from people trying to sneak up into the cabin at the top.
Back in the 1950s and ’60s, however, towers such as this one were the state’s first line of defense against fires in rural areas, where a forest fire might not be spotted from the road. Observers stationed at the top of the tower would keep their eyes peeled for signs of fire and alert local fire departments to any danger for miles around.