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| JANUARY 2022
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Important updates will be posted immediately.
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Last update: Monday, January 24, 2022 - 1115 hrs
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New Fire Commission
Last week, Hamden's Legislative Council approved the nominations of an entirely new Board of Fire Commissioners. The new members are Nancy Hill, Victor Mitchell, Cherlyn Poindexter, Samod Rankins, and Gary Tinney.
Comm. Hill, of Peck Lane, works in the New Haven public school system and is a Doctor of Education candidate at the University of Bridgeport. Comm. Mitchell, a retired industrial fire officer and frequent guest at HFRA meetings, has served in both Volunteer Companies 5 and 7. Comm. Poindexter, a resident of Woodin Street, is retired with 35 years with the City of New Haven and served previously on Hamden's Police Commission. Commissioner Rankins, of Notkins Street, is currently a lieutenant in the New Haven Fire Department. He sustained serious injuries in last May's fire on Valley Street in which Firefighter Ricardo Torres Jr. died while attempting a rescue of occupants. Comm. Tinney of Jennifer Road, is a retired captain and 23-year veteran in the New Haven Fire Department.
Posted 1/24/2022
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Dennis Smith
1940 - 2022
An icon and longtime champion of firefighters, Dennis Smith, passed away last week. In 1972, Smith's Report From Engine Co. 82 was on the reading list of all firefighters. It was the first book to feature firefighting as the protagonist's career. That book and subsequent effort's by Smith led to his creation of Firehouse Magazine in 1976.
CLICK HERE for more on the passing of Dennis Smith in NYC Fire Wire.
Posted 1/24/2022
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Two Captains and Two Lieutenants Sworn In
Friday, January 14 - An estimated 100+ friends, family, co-workers, and numerous HFD retirees gathered in the Legislative Council chambers this morning to witness four newly-promoted department members being sworn in to their new positions. CLICK HERE for the story and lots of photos.
Posted 1/14/2022
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| Town Clerk Minckens administers the oath to Lieutenants Larry DeDurra & Mike DeLine Jr., and Captains Mike Dowling & Rich Lennon. (Enlarge) |
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| 1898 Photo of the Hamden Plains Methodist Church |
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The First "Big One"
Sunday, January 13, 1918
Hamden Plains Methodist Church
Dixwell Avenue and Church Street
The Hamden Plains Methodist Church, built in the 1830s (pictured at left), was destroyed by fire on Sunday, January 13, 1918, in what was Hamden's first great fire of the 20th century.
Originally posted 1/13/11
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Firefighter Paul Reutenauer is riding the tailboard of Engine 4 in this early 1960s slide taken by Lieut. Bill Hines. The pumper was the department's 1954 Maxim that was 50% financed through a grant from Civil Defense, hence the "CD" logo on the cab doors. Those logos were replaced by decals of the Town of Hamden seal when the pumper was repainted in the early 1970s. The pumper remained in service until the early 1990s, serving last as Engine 15 of the Mt. Carmel Volunteer Fire Co. No. 5.
This photo was among several images recently acquired from Bill's widow, Ernestine Hines, with the help of retiree Bob Slater. More will be posted here in the near future.
Originally posted 1/2/15
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Also from Bob Slater, with the thanks of the Website
Congratulations to Hamden Firefighter Dave Beaton, a member of the West Haven Elks (below, left), who was recently recognized with other area firefighters in The Elks Magazine. A twenty-two year department veteran, Dave is currently serving as the fifth president of the Hamden Professional Firefighters Assn., Local 2687, I.A.F.F. Great guy, too!
Posted 1/5/2022
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Also pictured, second from right), is West Haven Fire Chief James O'Brien. HFRA members and other website followers may recall that O'Brien's life was saved in 1961 by our own then-Ff. Joe McDermott, who performed mouth-to-mouth on O'Brien when the toddler had stopped breathing. The two finally met again decades later shortly before McDermott's passing.
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| We Remember
Saturday, January 1, 2022, marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of Hamden firefighter Alfred Ramelli, who was stricken while on duty a week earlier on Christmas Eve. Firefighter Ramelli was a 23-year veteran of the Department. His son, Ray, joined the Hamden Fire Department in January 1970 and served for 30 years. Ray passed away in August 2020.
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50 Years Ago
Hamden Volunteers Experience a New Jersey New Year's Day Tradition
Four members of Mt. Carmel were invited to the Monmouth County (NJ) town of Avon-by-the-Sea for the January 1, 1972 swearing-in of the fire department's new fire chief. While there, the Hamden guys were treated to an unusual - and undoubtedly no-longer-practiced - New Year's Day fire department tradition in Monmouth County.
Each first day of January a group from the individual departments would pile onto a pumper tailboard or hose bed. Then, with red lights and sirens, they would visit their neighboring departments where all but the drivers were treated to adult beverages.
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| The Hamden Chronicle, Thursday, January 6, 1972 |
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It has been 50 years, but the sole surviving member of the Co.5 crew pictured above still remembers his "spirited" ride in the hose bed of an Avon-by-the-Sea pumper as it made the rounds to Neptune, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, among others. That crazy day started out with a 4:15 a.m. house fire on Thompson Street and ended, on their return from NJ, with the sad news of the sudden passing of Ff. Al Ramelli.
Posted 1/1/2022
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Also 50 Years Ago
New Rescue 1
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"New" Rescue 1 - On a 1971 Ford chassis, was placed in service at Station 4 at 12 noon on November 5, 1971. Shortly thereafter it acquired the dubious nickname, "Circus Wagon," for obvious reasons. (Previously, the rescue unit assigned to Station 4 was designated as "Rescue 2.")
In 1971, 17 Hamden firefighters became Emergency Medical Technicians, providing basic life support services.
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Due to the uptick in local cases of COVID and unrelated health issues affecting some members of the E-Board, next Thursday's HFRA meeting at the Elks has been cancelled. There will be no Zoom meeting, either.
Members who were waiting to pay dues at the upcoming meeting may wait and pay in person at the April meeting, pay with PayPal, or send a check to P.O. Box 185605, Hamden, CT 06518-0605. Hoping we will be able to meet at the Elks once again on Wednesday, April 13th for a midday meeting.
Posted 1/9/2002
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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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