Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

Staying Connected · Preserving Our Past

Home

COVID INFO

About Us

Hamden Local 2687

Hamden Historical Society

Hamden C.E.R.T.

C.E.R.T.

Calendars

Civil Defense

CT Apparatus Database

Hamden Then & Now

H.G.S.R.A.

Mountain Rescue Team

Off Duty Time

Parades

Public Education

Rosters

Sparking Out

Special Events

Training

Videos

We Remember

Web Links

1995 World Games

ALL PAST UPDATES

ALUMNI

APPARATUS

ARCHIVED ARTICLES

COMMUNICATIONS / DISPATCH

FIRE STATIONS

FIREFIGHTING

HFRA PHOTOS

HISTORICAL NOTES

MEMBERS ONLY

House Fire
1763 Whitney Avenue, corner of Santa Fe
1948 (or was it?)

Years ago, Chan Brainard sent us several photos of a 1948 incident at the corner of Whitney and Santa Fe Avenues.  The photos contained the Squad, Engines 3 and 4, and the ladder truck.  One of the photos even had Chief Spencer's 1946 Pontiac in the background.  When the 70th anniversary approached we wanted to know more about this incident.

Engine 4 in the driveway at #1763 Whitney Avenue, corner of Santa Fe Avenue
Unfortunately, when he sent the photos years ago, Chan could not recall anything specific about the call or its exact location.  But he thought it occurred in 1948.
 
We needed more information. What was the name of the family? What was the address?
 
Since scorching is clearly visible on the outside of the house, it was undoubtedly a structure fire that would have been reported in the Hamden Chronicle, which covered anything that was deemed newsworthy.  (If someone blew his nose at the town hall on Monday, you could be sure it would be in the Chronicle the following Thursday.)
 
When we received Chan's photos years ago, we could find nothing about a Spring Glen fire in 1948 because we didn't have a name and we didn't have an address.  But when we recently discovered the envelope containing the original photo negatives, "Dr. A. Gamm - 1948" was printed on it.
 
Aha, now we had a name!  Flipping through the 1948 city directory, there it was:  Alexander Gamm was listed at 1763 Whitney Avenue, corner of Santa Fe.
 
We're almost there!

This photo of the ladder truck shows Firefighter Danny O'Connell replacing a hook in preparation for leaving the scene. The rear of Engine 3, the 1928 Maxim 750 GPM pumper, can be seen at the extreme righthand side of the photo.
In the previously-unpublished photo above, Whitneyville's mascot, Belle, a beautiful Dalmation, is seen perched in her special seat on Engine 3.
"You're getting warmer!"
 
Now that we had the homeowner's name and the exact address, we thought it would be a cinch to find out what happened that day 70 years ago.  So we scoured every 1948 issue of the Hamden Chronicle to find the story about a fire in the Spring Glen residence of Dr. Alexander Gamm.
 
We checked and double-checked.  Nothing!  Absolutely nothing.  How can that be?

Breakthrough!
 
Then, earlier this week, a vital clue was discovered in one of the photos that proved we were barking up a wrong tree.  We thought we had all the information we needed to find the article about this fire, but one bit of crucial information was wrong.  Look closely.  Did any of my fellow "gearheads" notice it too?

CLICK HERE FOR THE ANSWER


COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Unless otherwise cited or in the Public Domain,
all material on this website, including all original photos, essays, articles and commentary published herein, are Copyright © 2009-2021 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.

Official website of the Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

Website powered by Network Solutions®