| Hamden Fire Retirees' Association |
| All HFRA members who still have their dress blues are once again invited to join the active members of the Hamden Fire Department marching contingent in Hamden's Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28th.
At present, the marching contingent is scheduled to assemble on the parkway side of the high school starting at 0915. The HFRA wishes everyone a safe and meaningful Memorial Day holiday.
Posted 5/18/12
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Before EMTs and Paramedics
The vast majority of fire department emergencies these days are medicals, although there will always be fires and other types of emergencies where only the fire department can be counted upon to save lives and property. There was a time in Hamden and everywhere else when medical calls were few and far between. In 1952, thirty "emergency" or "oxygen" calls were logged for the entire year! Today, that quota can be easily filled in one day by the HFD.
It wasn't until 1971 that the Hamden Fire Department had trained EMTs, and it would be another five years before it had paramedics.
A "save" for any department member is a wonderful experience - truly a reward in itself. During the past 40-plus years, we undoubtedly have had thousands of them. However, in those days before EMTs, a "save" was especially gratifying given the limited training and comparatively primitive equipment available to the fire service at the time. Below are two such examples from the early 1960s, both involving small children and Hamden firefighters who had the knowledge, skills and abilities at the right moment to meet the dire situations.
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| CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE FOR EASIER READING |
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| From the minutes of the February 15, 1961 meeting of the Hamden Board of Fire Commissioners:
"The clerk [Richard P. Cusson] read a letter from James T. O'Brien thanking the Dept. for help recently rendered to their son.
"Chairman [Elton] Wetmore moved and Mr. [Michael] Sullivan seconded a motion to give a citation to Joseph McDermott for his work during the above emergency and to give a station citation to the rest of the men on duty at the time of Station #2. The clerk was instructed to write to Joseph McDermott and ask him to appear before the next Board meeting."
From the minutes of the March 15, 1961 meeting of the Hamden Board of Fire Commissioners:
"Joseph McDermott appeared before the Board with the O'Brien family and was presented with a citation from the Board for recently helping to save the life of the O'Brien child."
Posted 5/18/12
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Article and photo courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society
This photo of the Red Cross citation presentation was taken at the September 11, 1961 meeting of the Commission.
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| Fred Fletcher in 1976 at 3's |
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| Newspaper article courtesy of the fellow whose life Fred saved 50 years ago. |
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We received this newspaper clipping (at right) last year through the Co. 5 website. It was about young Anthony Zaino, son of Dino Zaino, a popular Mt. Carmel barber whose shop was right across Whitney Avenue from Station 5. As the article notes, Anthony's mother rushed her infant son to the firehouse after he suffered a seizure. Firefighter Fred Fletcher administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, thereby saving his life.
Fifty years later, Anthony Zaino sent us this article for the archives. We did not getting the exact date, but it is believed to be 1961 or 1962.
Posted 5/18/12
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| c. 1951 - The Emergency Squad preparing to leave a Fennbrook Drive call. Looks like that might be Chief Raymond C. Spencer talking to the driver. (Photo by Chan Brainard) |
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A couple of weeks ago we featured a story about John O'Hare, the last Hamden firefighter to wear Badge No. 1. The second Hamden firefighter so honored was Frank Nolan, who came on the job in 1924. In a Hamden Chronicle article published nearly thirty years later, Ff. Nolan recalled his early days on the department and some of the guys he worked with.
Posted 5/18/12
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| Article courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society |
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COUNCIL and the PENSION
May 14th Meeting
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| Hamden Legislative Council members preparing for Monday night's meeting at the Government Center |
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Fourteen HFD retirees attended last night's Legislative Council meeting devoted exclusively to discussing the current pension crisis with three financial advisors.
The financial advisors who were questioned by the Council suggested that remedies to the pension underfunding will be tough and might include Pension Obligation Bonding, full funding and the so-called "pay as you go" method to fulfill the Town's pension obligations.
They warned that the worst case scenario could be one in which the State of Connecticut takes over and mandates a municipal tax increase commensurate with the needs of the pension plan.
Several fire and police department retirees offered comments and observations about the pension crisis. Hamden Police Department retiree Bob Maturo told the Council that the financial health of the Town is at stake, but the Town must keep its promises. He said that it is now the job of the Council to figure a way to fix the pension plan while maintaining the Town's financial health.
Former Local 2687 President Bob Anthony, who was on the Retirement Board for many years, stated that the actuaries who were consulted by Hamden's retirement board every two years always recommended full funding of the pension plan, but the Mayor and/or Council usually ignored their recommendations.
Citing Milford specifically, current Local 2687 president Kurt Vogt noted that several area pension plans were currently in very good financial condition, even after the 2008 financial downturn, because they were always properly funded.
Council member Carol Noble, an eighteen-year veteran of the Council, said that she was unaware of the role that actuaries played in the planning and proposing of Hamden's pension funding until the financial crisis of late 2008.
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Council president Judi Kozak said that she would like to see a committee organized, consisting of representatives from the executive and legislative branches, as well as the unions and the retirees, to help formulate a strategy for funding the pension plan properly in the future.
In the end, the Council voted to infuse $9.3 million* into the pension plan for fiscal 2012-13, with the intention of formulating a long-term solution to the pension funding crisis during the coming fiscal year.
Revised 5/16/12
NOTE: According to an article published in the New Haven Register on Thursday, May 17th, the figure was actually $8.3 million.
Added 5/18/12
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| August 29, 1996 - Batt. Chiefs Tom Doherty and Mike Ambriscoe in the B/Cs' office at Station 3, a few minutes before Tom left the station for the last time after 35 years, 7 months and 19 days on the job. Tom recently returned to Station 3 for a visit and was greeted warmly by today's firefighters. Mike retired in 2005 and is now the fire chief of Chatham, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. |
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| CLICK to enlarge for IDs (Shirley Mangler photograph) |
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| Photographer Shirley Mangler used this November 28, 1987 training session to create this unique, previously unpublished photo op. The all-day Saturday training session was part of Fire Fighter I certification for members all four Hamden volunteer fire companies that were active at the time.
The house was donated to the department for training by the property owner, who was preparing to develop the Autumn Ridge subdivision off Paradise Avenue. All interior firefighting evolutions were done, so there was really nothing left to do but to let 'er rip - and that we did.
Shirley, who is the wife of retired Firefighter Harold Mangler, preserved much of our history with hundreds of Hamden Fire Department photos of emergencies and training sessions taken between 1980 and the early 2000s.
Posted 5/11/12
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Any firefighter who ever worked at Station 4 knows the Brown Stone House, where the elite meet to eat here in Hamden. Located since 1949 on the northeast corner of Whitney and Dixwell, the Brown Stone is Hamden's "Times Square," where local politicians, business big shots and regular folks could be seen satisfying their gastronomic needs in a comfortable setting, and at very reasonable prices.
When the Brown Stone recently celebrated their 63rd anniversary with a grand reopening following renovations, Ann DeMatteo covered the occasion for the New Haven Register. Among Ann's several interviewees was our own John O'Hare, who shared some special memories of his own. CLICK on the 1953 advertisement at right to read Ann's article and view the video.
Posted 5/11/12
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| CLICK on this 1953 ad for the Brown Stone House to view Ann DeMatteo's New Haven Register article and video featuring one of our most senior HFRA members, who has been a patron of this famous Hamden eatery since '49. |
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| November 1999 - Standing next to Engine 9 are Lt. Jack Mordecai, Ff. Ray Ramelli and Ff. John Bellmore. Bob Mordecai's photo documented Ray's last day on the job. |
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Hamden Firefighters and their Numbered Badges
No. 1 Was the Top Guy
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Fire department badges everywhere sport certain insignia which designate the rank or position of the bearer. In all departments, including Hamden's, lieutenants have one bugle (horn), captains have two, and chief officers have three, four or five (depending). The insignia on a firefighter's badge is usually the traditional "scramble" or "cluster," consisting of a helmet, pike pole, axe, bugle, and ladder.
Hamden's fire officer badges have always had their bugles. However, for nearly a half century the badges of Hamden's firefighters were numbered. When numbered badges were introduced in the early 1940s, the numbers only went as high as No. 20. By the early 1980s, they went as high as No. 105.
You could usually tell how long a guy had been with the department by looking at his badge number - the lower the number, the greater the seniority. Every year or so as veteran firefighters retired, the Chief collected all the badges and then reissued them, with almost everyone receiving a lower badge number. If no one ahead of you retired, you kept your present number. New hires would eventually be assigned the higher badge numbers that were collected from the previous group of rookies.
The most junior member of the department had the highest badge number, which, by 1982, was No. 105. The most senior firefighter of the department always wore the coveted badge No. 1.
Joe Marchitto (AKA Joe Marcks) was Hamden's first firefighter to wear badge No. 1. During the decades following Ff. Marchitto's retirement, the distinction of wearing badge No. 1 went to Firefighters Frank Nolan, Art Norman, Robert Reutenauer, Clem Kammerer, Walt Thomas, Mario "Bucky" Serafino, Wilbur Baker, Art Smith, Fred Fletcher, Dave Howe, and Hugh McLean.
After Ff. McLean retired in 1987, Hamden Fire Department badge No. 1 was assigned for the last time to Firefighter John O'Hare. The badge was presented to O'Hare following his retirement on October 31, 1991.
Hamden's numbered badges disappeared shortly thereafter, when the department ordered new non-numbered generic shields that looked more like a cop's badge. Fortunately, HFD's badges were redesigned in recent years and now more closely resemble the original badges. But, alas, there are no numbers.
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| John O'Hare was the last holder of Badge No. 1 |
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The only badge ever to be retired was No. 14. The last man to wear it was Firefighter Alfred Ramelli, who passed away January 1, 1972 after having been stricken on duty on Christmas Eve 1971.
In addition to according well-deserved recognition to veteran firefighters, badge numbering had a practical advantage. There was never a problem with lost badges. Whatever your badge number, you had to produce it when the Chief came to collect it for the next reissuing.
Those traditionalists among us fondly remember the days when a senior firefighter could take some tacit pride in his low badge number. After all, not everyone longed to have bugles on his badge - right?
Posted 5/4/12
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Rich Maybury Still Looking for Badge No. 101!
Rich was the first Hamden firefighter to get that badge. Hamden firefighters were assigned numbered badges from the 1940s until about 20 years ago when, for some reason, new non-numbered badges were distributed. The lower your number, the higher your seniority.
If you have badge No. 101, Rich has No. 92 to trade.
Reposted 5/4/12
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The Big Day
Did all that studying pay off?
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| c. 1960 - Hamden firefighters taking the lieutenant's exam in the cafeteria at either the Michael J. Whelan or Sleeping Giant Jr. High School. (I.A. Sneiderman Photo) CLICK to enlarge |
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| In the 1890s, the New Lebanon Mission building at 375 Morse Street was the home of the Highwood Volunteer Fire Association, Hamden's first fire company, before it moved to the corner of Dixwell Avenue and Morse Street in 1909. The building was razed in 1975 to make way for a modern building for High Precision, Inc., which occupied the building at the time this photo was taken in the late 1950s. (Photo from the John Della Vecchia photo collection, courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society) |
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New Haven County Fire Emergency Plan
Celebrates 75 Years
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| Early 1960s - Some members of the New Haven County Fire Chiefs' Emergency Plan at Station 8. CLICK to enlarge. (Photo courtesy of Gil Spencer) |
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2012 marks the 75th anniversary of the New Haven County Fire Emergency Plan. The group was established in 1937 by a group of New Haven area fire chiefs. Originally called the New Haven County Fire Chiefs' Emergency Plan, the organization's goal has been the coordination of regional fire service resources in the event of a major disaster and to facilitate effective communication between and among area fire departments.
The Emergency Plan meets each month at a different New Haven county fire station. For decades, the traditional June venue for the Emergency Plan has been Hamden's Dunbar Hill fire station where, following the meeting, attendees have been treated to fresh strawberries from Hindinger's Farm. Recent presidents of the Emergency Plan have included retired HFD Deputy Fire Chief Clark Hurlburt and HFD Chaplain, Rev. Owen Sanderson.
This early 1960s photo, taken in the apparatus room at Station 8, features some of the brass from area departments, including Hamden's V. Paul Leddy (left) and Cheshire's fire marshal James Doherty (center). The other three gentlemen are not identified. Any ideas?
Posted 4/27/12
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| August 31, 1962 - New Haven Fire Department Capt. Walter Suski congratulates Hamden's John O'Hare, captain of the HFD softball team, following Hamden's 11-10 victory at Blake Field. Paul Wetmore drove in the winning run. John O'Hare led the Hamden Fire Department softball team into the late 1970s. |
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| CLICK on this image to read entire issue. |
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The Alarm Room News
April 1983
Shortly after this website started in June 2009, HFRA member Ed Emerson emailed us scanned images of the April 1983 issue of The Alarm Room News, which featured Hamden as the monthly "City of Discussion." While preparing to include the scans in this week's website update, we got to thinking about ARN publisher Keith Victor, who was also influential in helping the Hamden Fire Department establish its radio fire dispatch system in the late 1980s. We recently caught up with Keith to find out what he's been up to lately.
Over forty years ago, when he was a young Hartford firefighter, Keith began publishing The Alarm Room News from his East Hartford home. Championing the principle that "Knowledge is of no value until shared with others," The Alarm Room News was a monthly statewide publication aimed at keeping firefighters in Connecticut and western Massachusetts communities informed on the latest local fire service news.
Each issue of The Alarm Room News was filled with well-researched information on major fires in Connecticut and western Massachusetts during the previous month, as well as photos and specs of new apparatus deliveries. Every month, the "City of Discussion" offered readers a comprehensive profile of a different local fire department, listing its leadership, organizational make-up, station locations, descriptions of apparatus and the types of communications and alarm systems.
Hamden's Ed Doiron was one of Keith's southern Connecticut contacts for obtaining fire news each month, conducting 24/7 radio airchecks of New Haven area fire departments. Keith continued to publish The Alarm Room News until 1992.
Now 66, Keith Victor has spent two-thirds of his life in public safety. He joined the Hartford Fire Department in 1968. During his 26-year career as a Hartford firefighter, Keith was assigned to Engine 2 at Main and Belden, Engine 15 at Fairfield and New Britain Aves., and Engine 14 at Blue Hills and Albany Aves, where he was driver. Keith returned to Hartford's Station 2 as driver before retiring in 1994.
After 26 years with the Hartford Fire Department, Keith continues to enjoy his work in public safety. He is currently Communications Director for the Town of West Hartford, chairs the Region 3 Emergency Support Functions for Communications (ESF2) for FEMA, and sits on the State Technical Advisory Committee for Homeland Security. Keith is also with the Lafayette Group, teaching Communications for the federal government. Keith and his wife still live in their home in East Hartford.
Posted 4/27/12
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| Another mystery: This 50+ year old photo shows numerous members of the West Woods Volunteer Fire Co. 9 at a house fire somewhere in, of all places, West Woods. Any ideas ('cause we really don't know)? (Photo by I.A. Sneiderman) |
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Despite the IDs above the bay doors in this 1957 photo of Station 2, the 1952 Maxim (left) and the 1938 Seagrave canopy cab (right) were Engine 2 and Engine 1 respectively.
The marking on the door of the Seagrave is another curiosity: When it was placed in service as Engine 4 in 1938, the number "4" was painted on both doors. The Seagrave was transferred to Station 2 a year later, where it remained until it was "disposed of" in 1968 - the number "4" still adorning both doors. Go figure. (Photo by Chan Brainard)
Posted 4/27/12
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REFRESH!
If you are a frequent visitor, we recommend that you hit the F5 key every time you visit this website to make sure you are receiving the most recently published HOME page.
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The HOME page contains postings from the past FOUR weeks only.
All previous weekly updates, from April 1, 2011 on, may be viewed by going
to the menu tabs for the "2011 Home Pages" and "2012 Home Pages."
Articles about fires and other major incidents can be retrieved from the "Action!" tab.
Other articles may be retrieved by going to the "Past Articles" tab.
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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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NEVER FORGET!
We will always remember our brother firefighters who made the supreme sacrifice, and the thousands of other innocent victims who lost their lives ten years ago on September 11, 2001.
Always keep them, their families and the FDNY in your thoughts and prayers.
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