| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2014
Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary
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| CLICK to go to HGSRA webpage |
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July 1973
Forty years ago last summer an unknown photographer took this photo at Station 5. John O'Hare provided the original 8x10 photo so that it could be rescanned at a much higher rez than the version published on the website several years ago.
Left to right are Firefighters John O'Hare and Joe Mulligan. Standing by Engine 5, the 1951 Maxim 750, is the late Steve Blennerhassett, a Mt. Carmel volunteer. On the back of the engine are Co. 5 volunteers Bill Chalmers, Paul Moody and Hamden's future deputy fire chief Clark Hurlburt, who had joined the fire company a few months earlier. This was two years before the annex was built onto the Mt. Carmel station.
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| July 1973 - Station 5 |
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A portion of the oldest section of Mount Carmel Elementary School, built in 1921, can be seen in the background of the above photo.
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| Mt. Carmel School |
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The photo at right shows the Mt. Carmel School in the 1930's. A kindergarten and combination gymnasium and auditorium were added in 1939. In 1954, a modern wing with a principal's office, clinic, cafeteria and five classrooms was added to the west side of the building. A second addition at the south end of the complex was added in 1963. The school closed at the end of the 1973-74 school year.
The last time the school was used by town employees was in May 1981, when several different fire department training evolutions were conducted there. The 1921 building was razed later that year, but the 1954 and 1963 wings still stand today as part of the Mt. Carmel Congregate Housing, now located on the site of the old school.
Posted 2/7/14
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40 Years Ago!
Hamden Paid Firemen's Sick Benefit Association
Officers Elected February 12, 1974
(Bargaining Unit Before Local 2687)
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| February 1974 article published in The New Haven Register |
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Laying Supply Lines Before LDH
July 1982
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| Engine 4 - 1973 Maxim 1,000 GPM |
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Before the department adopted large diameter hose (LDH) in 1986, Hamden's pumpers had split hose beds with 3" on one side and 2-1/2" on the other. Depending on the pumper, you could fit approximately 1,000 feet of each size in the hose beds - somewhat less on the Telesqurt.
In July 1982, then-Deputy Chief/Training Officer John Tramontano produced an in-house slide presentation demonstrating both forward and reverse methods of laying supply lines.
Long before home computers and PowerPoint presentations, Tramontano's slideshows permitted every one of the department's 120 line personnel to remain familiar with department procedures, especially during winter months when outdoor hands-on training was neither desirable nor practical.
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| Engine 4 Firefighters Bob Surprise and Don Buechele stay well clear of the couplings as 3" and 2-1/2" supply lines drop from the moving pumper. |
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70 Years Ago!
February 9, 1944 - Belle's Blessed Event at Station 3
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| February 9, 1944 article from The New Haven Journal-Courier (G. Donald Steele) - CLICK to enlarge |
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| Belle was born in May 1942. She is shown here in this 1947 photo sitting between Lt. Everett Doherty and Larry Spahr of Co. 3. Bob O'Donnell is sitting in the driver's seat of Engine 3. |
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| One of several of Belle's dog licenses that were saved at old Station 3. They were issued by the Town Clerk, Walter D. Connor. Mr. Connor remained the Town Clerk until the mid-1960s. |
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50 Years Ago
February 9, 1964
This photo appeared in The New Haven Register on Sunday, February 9, 1964. The department was conducting home inspections to help homeowners identify and eliminate common household fire hazards. Capt. Paul Rosadina and Firefighter Harry Cubbellotti are at the front door of a Bagley Avenue residence. (Some of us older "boomers" may remember the date of that article for another reason.)
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| (Newspaper article courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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Website thanks to former HFRA president Mark Barletta, who shared this photo of his U.S. and State of Connecticut flags flying from the new flagpole at his home last week. The palm tree provides a hint as to its location (and it ain't Connecticut).
Mark, who is a flag historian, will be flying his Civil War Era 33-star flag during February to honor President's Day, and specifically our 16th president.
All former official U.S. flag designs are still considered official U.S.flags.
Posted 2/7/14
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