Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

Staying Connected · Preserving Our Past

Home

COVID INFO

About Us

Hamden Local 2687

Hamden Historical Society

Hamden C.E.R.T.

C.E.R.T.

Calendars

Civil Defense

CT Apparatus Database

Hamden Then & Now

H.G.S.R.A.

Mountain Rescue Team

Off Duty Time

Parades

Public Education

Rosters

Sparking Out

Special Events

Training

Videos

We Remember

Web Links

1995 World Games

ALL PAST UPDATES

ALUMNI

APPARATUS

ARCHIVED ARTICLES

COMMUNICATIONS / DISPATCH

FIRE STATIONS

FIREFIGHTING

HFRA PHOTOS

HISTORICAL NOTES

MEMBERS ONLY

←SEPTEMBER 28th UPDATE


OCTOBER 12th UPDATE→


Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.
CLICK here for daily flag status

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2012

Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary

Next Meeting:  Oct. 9th at 6 p.m. at the Elks. 
Menu:  Chicken Cutlet sandwich with LT, 2 sides homemade potato salad and coleslaw, brownies with dash of whipped cream - All for $6.00

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CLICK to visit website
 
 
Please Fly Your Flag Sunday
 
 
Gov. Dannel Malloy has ordered all flags to fly at half-staff on Sunday, October 7th in honor of the 31st National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend.
 
Click on the photo at left to visit their website.  Please keep our fallen firefighters, their families and their fellow firefighters in your thoughts and prayers.
Posted 10/6/12

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1940
 
This photo was scanned from the 1940 Hamden Annual Town Report, which heralded the recent renovation to Station 4, then known as "Fire Headquarters."  The bay doors were moved from the north side of the fire station to face Whitney Avenue.

The pride of the department were these two nearly new pieces of apparatus. At left is the "Emergency Squad," built on a 1938 Diamond-T chassis. At right is Hamden's newest pumper, rated at 500 GPM, built on a 1939 Diamond-T chassis. Both pieces were manufactured by the Woods Engineering Service of Topsfield, Masssachuetts. These pieces remained in service in various capacities for several more decades. The 1938 squad was sold in 1971, and the pumper in 1977.
Posted 10/5/12

__________

 
9 a.m. Radio Test
 Monday, July 13, 1981
 
Every morning at 9 a.m., the fire dispatcher conducted a radio test to all cars and apparatus.  The test format, used since the 1960s, began with the dispatcher announcing, "This is KCG-711 Hamden, testing to all units at 9 a.m."
 
The first unit called was usually Car 30, the car assigned to the deputy chief (now B/C).  On Mondays, the day of this test, volunteer and staff vehicles were included in the radio test.  Volunteer apparatus were called at the start of the test, and staff vehicles at the end.
 
When the dispatcher called one of the radios, the firefighter on that unit's mike gave the unit's designation, followed by "OK on test." The fire dispatcher would acknowledge with, "10-4 [name of unit]"  When the 10 codes were replaced by numeric signals in June 1984, the radio test response became simply, "[Name of unit] 99."

The Hamden Fire Department employed various versions of the 10 Codes for radio messages from the 1950s until 1984.  The 10 Codes list above was modified and enlarged in November 1981 with the advent of Central Communications.  Following input from line personnel, Hamden's 10 Codes were replaced in June 1984, with the adoption of numeric signals, similar to those used for years by the New Haven Fire Department.
Posted 10/5/12

__________

This photo of Firefighters Warren Blake and John McKee was taken by Firefighter Stan Brown around 1965. Stan was an amateur photographer, many of whose photos have been preserved by Chan Brainard. Chan recently donated many of his own photos and hundreds of HFD-related newspaper articles from 1955 through the 1990s. Lots of good stuff will be shared in the coming weeks and months!
__________

CLICK to enlarge
May 1, 1981
 
This roster is an interesting snapshot of the department at a pivital stage.
 
Deputy Chief Training Officer Ken Harrington's 1980 retirement resulted in the first department promotion in over seven years.  With Harrington's position vacant, Capt. Thomas Doherty acted as training officer when eight new recruits were hired in January 1981.  But neither he nor the other two captains still on the job wished to apply for the permanent position.  Civil Service re-wrote the specifications, allowing lieutenants with three or more years in grade to apply for the position.
 
Dep. Chief Harrington's vacancy as training officer was filled in April by Lt. John Tramontano.  Ironically, seven years earlier, Tramontano had been the last man to receive a promotion - to lieutenant - the direct result of then-Capt. Harrington's promotion to training officer.  Harrington's vacancy on Platoon 2 was filled by Lt. Burt Hillocks, whose vacancy on Platoon 4 was filled by Ff. John Tramontano.
 
The seven year drought of promotional opportunities affected dozens of firefighters hired in 1969-70, who were not on the job long enough to qualify for the previous lieutenant's exam, conducted in 1973.  Some firefighters were on the job nearly twelve years before getting their first shot at a promotion in early 1981, when Civil Service finally authorized a promotional exam.
 
Posted 10/5/12

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

←SEPTEMBER 28th UPDATE


OCTOBER 12th UPDATE→


COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Unless otherwise cited or in the Public Domain,
all material on this website, including all original photos, essays, articles and commentary published herein, are Copyright © 2009-2021 by the Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc., and may not be copied or republished in whole or in part without prior written permission of the Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

Official website of the Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

Website powered by Network Solutions®