Company 4 - Headquarters - Station 4
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| c. 1907-24 |
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| 1924-2009 |
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Until two years ago, fire department apparatus had been stationed on Whitney Avenue in Centerville since Company 4 was organized in 1907. From 1908 until 1924, Company 4 was quartered in a two-and-a-half story wood frame building on the north side of the old town hall.
When the Memorial Town Hall was built in 1924, a new fire station was incorporated into the northeast corner of the building. Company 4 was provided with a meeting room in the new building, which their members continued to use until the last member passed away in the 1990s.
The fire station at Memorial Town Hall was officially "Fire Headquarters" until the chief's office was relocated to the old Centerville School (now Miller Library) in 1974, at which time the town hall fire station became "Station 4." The chief's office returned to the town hall in the late 1970s, occupying two different basement areas until 1989. But Station 4 remained "Station 4."
In an article published in The New Haven Register on March 14, 1966, Chief V. Paul Leddy noted that the town hall fire station, "is too old and too small to accommodate the proper apparatus, offices and living quarters." The same month, a Hamden Chronicle editorial referred to the station as "inadequate and poorly located," a opinion shared by many in the department in the four-plus decades since.
Today, a multi-million dollar addition to Memorial Town Hall is in progress. The project includes a renovation of the fire station - the first since 1940. When the job is done, it will be interesting to see how Chief Leddy's concerns of 45 years ago have been addressed.
Since September 22, 2009, Station 4 apparatus have been temporarily reassigned to other quarters. The Squad (formerly Engine 4) is at Station 3 and Rescue 1 is assigned to Station 5. Original estimates for the completion of the renovation of Station 4 were eighteen to 24 months. Station 4 is now expected to reopen sometime after January 2012. We'll keep you posted.
Posted 9/2/11
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| Addition to Hamden's Memorial Town Hall, in progress for the past two years. |
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| CLICK on this photo for more photos |
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Memorial Town Hall in the 1960s
This postcard photo (c. 1960) is a nice view of Memorial Town Hall. Notice the electric "HAMDEN" sign above the entrance. It was placed there for Hamden's 1936 sesquicentennial and remained until the early 1970s.
Grace Episcopal Church can be seen in its original location on the north side of Dixwell Avenue, right next to the town hall. The Town bought the church's property for future expansion (now in progress) and the church building was moved across Dixwell Avenue to its present location 45 years ago this month. The website thanks Kris Beirne for preserving the remarkable photos below, taken by I.A. Sneiderman, and for donating the images to the HFRA.
Posted 9/2/11
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These four photos of the 1966 relocation of Grace Episcopal Church were taken by I.A. Sneiderman and were generously donated to the HFRA by Kris Beirne, wife of former Hamden firefighter Jim Beirne. CLICK on any photo to enlarge.
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