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← MAY 5th UPDATE


MAY 26th UPDATE →


Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.
CLICK here for daily flag status
 
FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017
 
Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary
 
Next regular update is Friday, May 26th.

CLICK to monitor HFD radio
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May 19, 1957
Civil Defense Exercise at Groton Includes Hamden's Engine 4
 
Under rainy skies, 105 pumpers from all over Connecticut participated in a "mobility" exercise at the Groton submarine base sixty years ago today.  Fifteen pumpers from the New Haven area, including Hamden's Engine 4, the 1954 Maxim, were transported fifty miles to the exercise site on railroad flat cars from the New Haven freight yards.  The exercise, which was coordinated by state Civil Defense Director Leo Mulcahy*, was designed to test the ability of fire, rescue and other emergency units to respond quickly to a stricken disaster area.
 
*Leo Mulcahy, who also served as Commissioner of the Connecticut State Police from 1959 to 1971, was the uncle of our own Bill Mulcahy (1943-85).

New Haven Evening Register, Monday, May 20, 1957 (Brainard Collection)
The New Haven Journal-Courier, Monday, May 20, 1957 (Brainard Collection)
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Townhouse Road Condo Fire
Wednesday, May 10th
 
This fire at the Hillside Village condos on Townhouse Road was under investigation by the Marshal's office. Flames were coming through the roof when fire units arrived on scene, but firefighters quickly had the situation under control.  All residents escaped safely and there were no injuries.  Hamden's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the American Red Cross assisted displaced residents in obtaining emergency housing.
Posted 5/19/17

Photo courtesy of the Chief's Office
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Engine 8 and Engine 8

Photo by Mark Guarino
While Hamden career companies were working on the fire at Townhouse Road on Wednesday evening, May 10th, New Haven Fire Department's Engine 8 out of Whitney station stood by at Station 2 with Dunbar Hill's Engine 8.  Easy to tell which was which.
Posted 5/19/17

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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 Avenues, 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.
 
Five years ago, when the Brown Stone celebrated its 63rd anniversary with a grand reopening following renovations, legendary New Haven Register reporter, the late Ann DeMatteo, covered the occasion. 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.  (The video apparently is no longer available.)
 
Revision of original article, posted 5/11/12

CLICK on this 1953 ad for the Brown Stone House to view Ann DeMatteo's 2012 New Haven Register article featuring one of our most senior HFRA members, who has been a patron of this famous Hamden eatery since '49.
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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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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 on September 11, 2001.

Always keep them, their families and the FDNY in your thoughts and prayers.


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← MAY 5th UPDATE


MAY 26th UPDATE →


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all material on this website, including all original photos, essays, articles and commentary published herein, are Copyright © 2009-2025 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.

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