Please keep Bridgeport Fire Lt. Steven Velasquez and Firefighter Michael Baik, their families, and the Bridgeport Fire Department in your thoughts and prayers.
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The Governor has ordered flags at half-staff to honor the two fallen firefighters. Flags will remain at half-staff until sundown of the day of the firefighters' funerals.
Private funerals for our fallen BFD firefighters will be held separately on Friday afternoon. Calling hours for the public will be held on Thursday, July 29th for both firefighters:
LT Steven Velasquez: 12 PM - 4 PM at Klein Memorial Auditorium at 910 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport.
FF Michel Baik: 4 PM - 8 PM at Abriola Parkview Funeral Home at 419 White Plains Road in Trumbull.
The Congregation of Firefighters, a service open to all firefighters, will be held Friday, July 30th at the Arena at Harbor Yard, 600 Main Street in Bridgeport after the second funeral service.
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Retirees Invited
Hamden Professional Firefighters, Local 2687 has chartered a bus for the Friday funerals of Lt. Velasquez and Ff. Baik. Retired members of the Hamden Fire Department who still have their dress blues are invited to attend to be a part of the sea of blue outside both churches.
The bus leaves the Devine Street parking lot in North Haven on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., and will leave Bridgeport no later than 3:30 p.m. Should be home by 4:30.
There are several HFD retirees going. If you wish to go on the bus please call Dave Johnson at 203-288-2214. A couple of seats are still available.
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| Last Update - 7/27/10 - 0740 hrs. |
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For the benefit of our regular website visitors, whenever new photos or features are posted anywhere on this website, they will also be posted on the new What's New? page for up to 90 days, with links to the webpages where they are permanently posted.
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| Three original 35mm negatives of the 1973 Maxim foam truck delivery photos found. CLICK and scroll down to view all three on the ENGINE COMPANIES page. |
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| 1977 photo of Station 8 with Co. 8's 1942 Diamond-T in front. CLICK and scroll down to view. |
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Also check out the Station 3 (Putnam Avenue) page for 1931 and 1947 views of the old bell tower.
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Summer Dinner Meeting at the Elks
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| Bobby Viglione, Jimmy Koutsopolos and Ray Dobbs right after hot-wiring the T-Bird. CLICK on this photo to read the meeting minutes. User IDs and Password haven't changed. |
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| Bob Mordecai, Dennis Baker, Jimmy Dunlop and Jack Mordecai digging in. CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL 25 PHOTOS OF THE SUMMER GATHERING AT THE ELKS. |
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| More than half of our brothers in this 1950 photo served during World War II. Most of us retirees knew them and worked with them. |
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Hamden has the highest concentration
of World War II vets in the state!
Help Send a WWII Vet to D.C.
American Warriors Spaghetti Dinner
$10 per person
Sunday, August 1 - 4-7 p.m.
at the Hamden Elks Hall
175 School Street
To benefit the American Warriors
to send local WWII veterans to Washington D.C.
to visit the World War II Memorial
Sponsored by
2nd Company Governor's Foot Guard
Hamden Elks
American Legion Post 88
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| 1966 - Whitney and Day Spring (Photo by Irving R. Saslow) |
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Lt. William Hines and the crew of Engine 4 use two 1-1/2" lines to dissipate what appears to be a fuel oil spill at the corner of Whitney and Day Spring Avenues in Centerville. This was standard operating procedure for all fire departments when dealing with almost all types of spills on roadways, especially following motor vehicle accidents. L-R: Ff. Paul Reutenauer, Ff. Milner Benham, Lt. Hines, and Ff. Ben Mikolinski.
When this photo was taken in the mid-1960s, the brick building in the background was an architectural hardware company. It later housed Shopper's World. The building was razed a few years ago and a Dunkin' Donuts shop is presently located on the site. This photo was taken by Irving R. Saslow, who served on the Board of Fire Commissioners numerous times from the 1960s to the 2000s.
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Forty Years Ago
On July 7, 1970, the last fifteen* of forty firefighters, hired between 1968 and 1970 in anticipation of the 42-hour work week, were sworn in by Town Clerk Thomas Raccio. (*One firefighter was not pictured.)
Before the expansion, each of the three platoons had four officers and 20 firefighters. When the 42-hour workweek was implemented in October 1970, there were four platoons of four officers and 24 firefighters each. By 1980, each platoon had four officers and 26 firefighters each.
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| CLICK to go to webpage with details and photos |
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15 YEARS AGO
1995 Special Olympics World Games
July 1, 2010 - Fifteen years ago, the Town of Hamden hosted three of the several sports venues for the Special Olympics World Games. For over a year, the Hamden Fire Department, with the assistance of several other area fire departments, spent hundreds of hours preparing for the enormous ten-day increase in the town's population.
CLICK on the image at the left to view photos. More info and photos will be added during the next ten days.
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
CLICK on the photos of the Hamden apparatus below
to see where they are today - and what they look like.
CAUTION: VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
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1951 Maxim 750 GPM
| 1968 S-Model Maxim 1000 GPM
| 1984 Pierce Dash
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| CLICK to see this engine today! |
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| CLICK to see one of these engines today! |
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| CLICK to see this engine today! |
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| June 1982 - Lt. Bill Coppola at Station 4 - CLICK to enlarge (Photo by John Tramontano) |
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| June 1982 - John Corbett - CPR Training - CLICK to enlarge (Photo by John Tramontano) |
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| November 1984 - Retired Fire Chief V. Paul Leddy poses next to one of the two new Pierce Dash pumpers when it was on a driver training exercise in his Cumpstone Drive neighborhood. CLICK to enlarge. (Photo by John Tramontano) |
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| June 1982 - Photo by John Tramontano (CLICK to enlarge) |
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Gerry Dinneen joined the department in 1980. His contributions to the department during his brief career were considerable.
In 1982, before the advent of personal "camcorders," Gerry purchased his own video camera with a portable shoulder-pack VHS cassette recorder. He began taping various department-related activities, the first being a 1982 Halloween party at Co. 7.
On October 18, 1985, Gerry recorded the first Hamden Fire Department awards ceremony held during John Tramontano's tenure as chief, which inspired the department to acquire its own video equipment for making training videos and to preserve department events.
Gerry was a good firefighter and a great guy who was well liked by all. The department was stunned and saddened by Gerry's sudden death on Christmas Day 1985.
Posted 6/14/10
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Pillars of Fire Sunday School at Mix District Firehouse
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| 1929 - Pillars of Fire Sunday School class in front of Company 7's brand new quarters. CLICK to read Verna Schulze Nedovich's memoir |
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| HFRA member Rev. Owen Sandersen provided us with a fascinating memoir by Verna Schulze Nedovich, in which she recalls the formation of the Mix District Volunteer Fire Co. 7, of which her father was the first president, as well as the members of the Pillars of Fire Sunday School, which met at the firehouse from its earliest days until a tragic and notorious crime occurred there in April 1931.
CLICK on the photo at left to read the Nedovich memoir, as told to local historian Audrey Linke.
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| CLICK to view video |
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The Hamden Fire Department recently conducted a rural water supply drill with five other area fire departments.
CLICK on the photo at left to view a four-minute YouTube synopsis of the drill.
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| 1985 stern view of Engine 4 (Photo by Ed Doiron, Jr.) CLICK to enlarge |
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This tribute to HFD's WWII veterans will remain on the Home Page until August 15th, the 65th anniversary of VJ Day, after which it will remain permanently on the We Remember page.
Please keep all of our troops, past and present, in your thoughts and prayers.
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| Hamden's World War II Honor Roll, which stood on the site of the future Miller Memorial Library until 1951. |
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This year marks the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. On Memorial Day 2010, it is especially fitting to remember those Hamden firefighters who served in the U.S. military during World War II. For well over a generation, they represented the majority of the personnel who served on the Hamden Fire Department.
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Lawrence Bellemore
Edward Bevins
Warren Blake
William Bosolli
Robert Callahan
Michael Cantarella
Raymond Carofano
Fiore Cubbellotti
Thomas Cummins
Francis Eitler
William Esposito
Salvatore Ferraro
Frederick Fletcher
Kenneth Harrington
David Herrmann
Burton Hillocks
| William Hines
John Hoffman
David Howe
Joseph Hromadka
Howard Hurlburt, Sr.
Samuel Jones
Stewart Keeler
Frederick Knudsen
John Laffin
Francis Leddy
V. Paul Leddy
Richard Lostritto
Eugene Maturo
Joseph McDermott
John McKee
Hugh McLean
Russell Norman
| Daniel O'Connell
Robert O'Donnell
Joseph Rahl
Alfred Ramelli
George Reutenauer
Paul Rosadina
Vincent Roth
Mario Serafino
Arthur Smith
Richard Stacey
Emil Strain
James Strain
Luke Tobin
Sidney Trower
Raymond Vreeland
Robert Williams
Gerald Wolf
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A notation regarding the Honor Roll listed in the 1942 Hamden Town Report reads,
"With no official list of names obtainable, it is regretted that names may, inadvertently, have been omitted."
The website's list was compiled from Town Reports and other sources. Corrections are welcome.
Posted 5/30/10
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April 7, 1991 - The Hamden contingent to the Connecticut Fire Officers' Weekend at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD.
L-R: Dave Johnson, Gil Spencer, Don LaBanca, Bill Coppola, Clark Hurlburt, Ron Wetmore (Co. 7), Don Buechele, Carl Backus, Vic Mitchell (Co. 7), Tom Doherty, Bernie Amatrudo, and Dennis Harrison. Wetmore and Mitchell are also fire officers at the Milford and Sikorsky departments, respectively.
(Comparisons to this annual excursion and a classic 1978 film were documented later that year in a video that's coming eventually to YouTube.)
Posted 5/3/10
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| Newly Discovered 1939 HFD Photo - CLICK to enlarge and list IDs |
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Many thanks to former fire chief Paul Wetmore, Sr. for providing this amazing 1939 photo of the paid members of the Hamden Fire Department along with the Board of Fire Commissioners.
It was among many of the photos that had been saved by Paul's dad, Clem Wetmore, who served for many years as the department's Supt. of Alarms and Apparatus prior to his retirement in 1968.
Several ID mysteries were solved with this photo because the names of everyone were listed on the back of the photo. Paul says there will be more! (CLICK on it to enlarge)
Posted 5/3/10
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Our April 21st Morning Brunch-Meeting at the Elks. A total of 35 members attended.
Below are links to a slide show and the meeting minutes.
(Photos by Bob Mordecai)
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| April 21 Meeting Slide Show (CLICK on this photo) |
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| CLICK to view Minutes |
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| Remember When (CLICK to enlarge) |
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| Hamden police and firefighters were featured in this dramatic photo of a mid-winter water rescue that was published in LIFE magazine in February 1972. Three of the Hamden firefighters are identified as Robert Viglione, Edward Charbonneau, Gerry Wolf and Walter Macdowall, who were all assigned to Station 4 on Platoon 2. (Photo by John Mongillo, Jr.) |
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Mountain Rescue Team - Fifty 1982 Photos
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| CLICK on the photo and check out the fifty photos of the mountain rescue training exercise conducted at the quarry on Sleeping Giant in July 1982. |
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| Delivery photo of 1951 Maxim 750 pumper, courtesy of Chan Brainard (CLICK to enlarge) |
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Posted 3/26/10
| Posted 3/26/10
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| CLICK on the Maltese cross to view the memorial tribute to our friends and colleagues, all past career members of the Hamden Fire Department. |
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| CLICK here to visit the official website of the Hamden Professional Firefighters, Local 2687, I.A.F.F. |
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This website is open to all visitors, except for the "For Members" pages, which are available to retirees only.
When you click on any of the "For Members" pages, you will be prompted to enter a user name and password. On the "User Name" line, type the name of the current month in all lower case letters.
The PASSWORD for "For Members" pages is on the back page of the minutes that were mailed to all retirees on June 13th. If you have forgotten the password, email Dave Johnson - HFDBadge102@aol.com
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Corrections and contributions to the website are welcome.
Scanned photos can be either in JPG or GIF format.
Please email Dave Johnson at HFDBadge102@aol.com
Your original photos are welcome, too. Just send them to:
Hamden Fire Retirees
P.O. Box 185605
Hamden, CT 06518-0605
They will be scanned and mailed back within 24 hours of receipt.
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All photos on this website not otherwise in the Public Domain, as well as all commentary,
are © Copyright 2009-10 by the Hamden Fire Retirees' Assn.
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