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Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013

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

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35 Years Ago!
Daw Packing Co.
School Street and Washington Avenue
Friday, February 3, 1978
 
February 8, 2013 - As we anticipate what meteorologists tell us may be one of the worst blizzards of the 21st century, we are reminded that 35 years ago, just three days before one of the worst blizzards of the 20th century, a multiple alarm fire on a freezing cold night gutted the Daw Packing company at the corner of School Street and Washington Avenue.  CLICK on the photo to read more.
Originally posted in 2009

© The Hamden Chronicle - February 10, 1978
September 1950 - The Hamden Chronicle (Courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society)
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34 Years Ago Hamden Firefighters Took Steps to Join the I.A.F.F.
 
Since collective bargaining for guardian services personnel was permitted in the 1960s, the Hamden Paid Firemen's Sick Benefit Association, established in 1948, had been the bargaining unit for non-management Hamden Fire Department personnel.  This created a problem.  The Fire Chief, Fire Marshal, the four Deputy Chief shift commanders, and the Deputy Chief training officer, all management positions at the time*, were also members of the Sick Benefit Association and could attend meetings during which negotiation strategies were discussed - although this seldom happened.
 
In 1978, Hamden's non-management fire personnel formed the Hamden Firefighters' Association and successfully petitioned the state to designate the new association as the sole bargaining unit for Hamden firefighters and fire officers below the rank of deputy chief.  The Hamden Firefighters' Association was fairly short-lived, however.  In early 1979, more than 90% of all non-management fire personnel signed to join the International Association of Fire Fighters, thus establishing the Hamden Professional Firefighters Association, Local 2687, IAFF.
 
The Hamden Paid Firemen's Sick Benefit Association continued to provide members with limited medical, retirement and death benefits, but membership was optional.  The Sick Benefit Association was dissolved in late 1995, and its assets donated to Hospice.
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*The Marshal and five Deputy Chiefs joined the union in 1982.
Posted 2/8/13

The New Haven Register - February 13, 1979
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February 7, 2013 - 4th Platoon at Station 3 - (L-R) Engine 3 Crew: Ff. Mike DeLine, Jr., Ff. Doug O'Rourke, Lt. Paul Kobbe - Tower 1 Crew: Capt. Ron Desroches, Ff. Dave Beaton and Ff. Daryl Osiecki.
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The Powder Farm

1963 - Fire training at the Winchester Powder Farm off Putnam Avenue. These buildings were located approximately where the Davenport-Dunbar Apartments are today. (Newspaper photo courtesy of Chan Brainard)
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Hamden's First Aerial Truck
(1958 - 1990)

A tidy sum in 1958, but mere pocket change when compared to what Tower 1 cost in '12.
1958 - Maxim factory photo of Hamden's brand new white 75' Junior aerial ladder truck just before delivery. This was Hamden's first open cab apparatus since the 1930 Maxim 600 GPM pumper that was Engine 5 until 1953. It would also be its last. (Photo courtesy of Chan Brainard)
c. 1980 - Truck 1 is parked on the ramp at Station 5, where it was assigned from 1976 until 1984. A soft top was added when the truck was painted red in 1971. It kept the driver and rider fairly dry, but did little to protect them from frigid temperatures. (Wegloski photo)
1986 - Now designated "Truck 2," a spare, the '58 Maxim sports a white soft top to conform with the Department's new color scheme for apparatus. The truck remained a spare until 1990, when it was sold to a private buyer. It was eventually junked for the value of its metal content. (Wegloski photo)
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