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Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.
CLICK here for daily flag status
 
FRIDAY, JUNE 2, 2017
 
Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary
 
Next regular update is Friday, June 9th.

CLICK to monitor HFD radio
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June 2, 1960
Electrical Storms Damage Many Area Buildings

The New Haven Evening Register, Friday, June 3, 1960
This brand new 1960 Chevy Corvair got the worst of it when this Walden Street garage was struck by lightning during a violent series of electrical storms that hit the greater New Haven area 57 years ago today.  The Register also reported that a storage shed elsewhere in Hamden was also struck, but the details were not given.
 
Chevy's Corvair, introduced with the 1960 model year, was featured several years later in Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed, which revealed problems in certain car designs that led to serious auto accidents.  At higher speeds, the Corvair, with its rear-mounted engine, tended to fishtail out of control on turns.  In September 1966, two people were killed on Whitney Avenue in the Norwood section when their Corvair slued sideways on wet pavement and wrapped around a telephone pole.  The Corvair was discontinued with the 1969 models.
 
Posted 6/2/2017

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35 Years Ago - FLOOD!
One of Hamden's worst natural disasters of the last 100 years.

Heavy rain fell steadily from Friday night into Saturday morning, June 5, 1982, continuing all day and through the following night.  By mid-morning on Saturday, water was collecting under the railroad bridge on Putnam Avenue.  By early afternoon, calls for assistance were being prioritized at Central by the number of feet of water in basements.  By mid-afternoon the Emergency Operations Center was opened by Mayor Peter Villano.  By evening, Dixwell Avenue at Central was covered in several feet of water.  By the next day, the Flood of '82 was a major disaster.
 
Originally posted 6/8/12

Flood waters lap against the covered bridge by the Whitney Dam (Photo by Leland Robinson, courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society)
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From the New Haven Journal-Courier, Monday, June 7, 1982 (Courtesy of the New Haven Free Public Library microfilm collection)
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CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE FOR EASIER READING.

"This Skiff Street home, next to the Nationwide Insurance building, which suffered severe water damage, was evacuated over the weekend as swells of torrential rains claimed its foundation, porch, roof and backyard." (Photo by Christine Bellini) This article, photo and caption is from The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 9, 1982.
All Hamden Chronicle articles on this page were provided by Gilbert Spencer.

The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 9, 1982
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The gravity of the damage to Hamden streets can be gleaned from reading the weekly HFD Communications Bulletin (below), issued just two days after the rain ended.  One of the silver linings of this disaster was the level of cooperation and assistance provided to us by our neighboring communities.  Some border areas of Hamden could be reached only from other towns.  Some areas of our neighboring towns could be reached only from Hamden.  These conditions resulted in new mutual aid agreements with Bethany, Cheshire, North Haven, and Wallingford, which are still in effect today.
Originally osted 6/8/12

Hamden Fire Department Bulletin No. 15 - HFRA Archives
The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 16, 1982 - The page 3 article referred to in the photo caption is below.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO ENLARGE FOR EASIER READING.

The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 16, 1982
The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 16, 1982
The Hamden Chronicle, Wednesday, June 9, 1982
Photo by Leland Robinson, courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society
From the New Haven Journal-Courier, Tuesday, June 8, 1982 (Courtesy of the New Haven Free Public Library microfilm collection)
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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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