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Articles and photos added during
September 2009
Regular weekly Friday website updates commenced on April 1, 2011.
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| 1915 - Whitneyville Co. 3 testing its brand new Maxim 500 GPM pumper, the first pumping engine manufactured by Maxim (HFRA Collection) |
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In 1915, the Whitneyville Fire Association purchased this brand new Maxim triple combination pumping engine for $5,500. The apparatus was built on a Thomas Flyer chassis. Even though Mt. Carmel had a Ford roadster to pull its hose cart as early as 1913, the 1915 Maxim was Hamden's first motorized fire apparatus. It was considered a triple "combination" pumper because it had a 500 GPM rotary gear pump, it carried hose, and it also was a chemical truck, as can be seen by the transversely mounted tanks behind the driver's seat.
This 1915 Maxim also had the distinction of being the Maxim Company's first motorized pumping engine, as noted by author Walter McCall in his 1976 book, American Fire Engines Since 1900, (Crestline Publications, Inc., Glen Ellyn, IL: 1976).
Whitneyville also acquired a chemical truck from the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in 1915. It was built on a 1910 Locomobile chassis. Winchester's "powder farm" represented a large portion of the area along Putnam Avenue in those days, and Winchester donated the Locomobile chemical truck for use on smaller grass and brush fires so that Whitneyville's new Maxim pumper would be reserved "for graver emergencies."
Until recently, it was thought that Whitneyville's 1915 Maxim was turned over to Dunbar Hill Co. 8 when Hamden bought a new Maxim 750 GPM pumper for Whitneyville Co. 3 in 1928. But it was Whitneyville's 1910 Locomobile that went to Dunbar Hill. The fate of Whitneyville's 1915 Maxim is as yet unknown.
Notation revised 10/18/09
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The End of an Era!
(for the time being)
Old Station 4 Closes
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Tuesday, September 22 - At approximately 3:45 this afternoon Station 4 was vacated as the Squad and its three-man crew rolled down the ramp onto Whitney Avenue and headed to a new temporary home at Station 3, as work soon begins on a complete renovation of the apparatus floor and living quarters. This will be the first major structural renovation of Station 4 since 1940, when the bay doors were moved to face Whitney Avenue and the Alarm Room was added.
Until the job is done, the Squad will run out of Station 3. Rescue 1 will run out of Station 5. With Station 4 closed, Engines 2, 5 and 9 will have expanded first alarm territories for the duration of the renovation, which is expected to take from 18 to 24 months.
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The spiral staircase and sliding pole were unique to Station 4. The pole afforded a somewhat more expeditious way of getting to the apparatus floor (vs. the spitral staircase).
Anyone who ever worked there had to learn just how to slide the pole. And doing it in short sleeves could be challenging.
| L-R: Firefighters Craig Smart, Ed Hilbert and Lt. Dave Proulx pose on the apparatus floor next to the only sliding pole ever installed in a Hamden fire station. Less than fifteen minutes later, these three guys mounted the Squad as the last crew to leave "old" Station 4. In 18 to 24 months, a totally "new" Station 4, in the same location, will be ready for occupancy. Although the spiral staircase will be gone, there will be a pole.
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| The Squad leaves 4's (as we knew it) for the last time |
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| 1957 - Hamden's 1925 Seagrave getting ready for Vol. Co. 9 (Article courtesy of Tom Doherty) |
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| 1978 - Ffs. Jeff Stoehr and Wayne Lowry at Station 3 |
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| June 1971 - Lt. Tom Doherty gives school kids the grand tour of Engine 4 |
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| 1968 MDA Drive Photo - Ff. Ray Vreeland, Ff. Milner Benham, D/C George Reutenauer, Ff. Paul Reutenauer, Ff. Gil Spencer, Ff. Bob "Whitney" Williams and Ff. Charlie Esposito |
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| Warren Blake (1923-2009) |
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Firefighter Warren Blake
(1923 - 2009)
It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of retired Hamden Firefighter Warren Edward Blake in Williamsburg, Virginia, on Tuesday, September 15, 2009. Warren had been a resident of Jefferson, Maine since his retirement in April 1979.
Warren served in the U.S. Navy as an Electrician's Mate for ten years, and was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. He was a firefighter with the Hamden Fire Department from April 16, 1949 until his retirement on April 20, 1979.
Warren was predeceased by his wife, Jane. He is survived by his sons, Robert, Bradford, David, and several grandchildren.
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