| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015
Website is updated the first and third Friday of each month.
Important interim updates will be posted when necessary.
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Three "O"fficers Sworn In
Osiecki, O'Callaghan and Otlowski are Promoted
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| Sworn in were Lieutenant Daryl Osiecki, Captain Hugh O'Callaghan and Battalion Chief Rich Otlowski |
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Twenty-year department veteran Rich Otlowski was sworn as the department's newest battalion chief during a ceremony in the Town Hall rotunda on Tuesday, May 26th. B/C Otlowski fills the vacancy on Platoon 3 created by the retirement of B/C Don LaBanca last April 30th. Also sworn in were Hugh O'Callaghan, who replaces Otlowski as captain on Platoon 4, and Daryl Osiecki, who replaces O'Callaghan as lieutenant on Platoon 1. The members of the HFRA wish these gentlemen all the very best in their new roles and responsibilties.
Posted 6/5/15
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20 Years Ago
Off-the-Rails Administration Suggests an All-Volunteer HFD
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Politicians' Dishonest Spinning of Overtime Issue Results in Full-page Open Letter by Local
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Even before her election as Hamden's first female mayor in 1991, Lillian Clayman never tried to hide her disdain for members of the department. In May 1995, the animosity reached a crescendo when Mayor Clayman made headlines suggesting that Hamden could get by with an all-volunteer fire department.
At issue was the minimum manning mandated in the contract between the Town of Hamden and the Hamden Professional Firefighters Assn., Local 2687, I.A.F.F. and the costs related to funding the sub-straight time account in the department's annual budget.
What the mayor and her sycophants, which included Council president and future mayor Craig Henrici, would not acknowledge was the fact that keeping the overall number of line personnel at the minimum saved the taxpayers a fortune without compromising their safety.
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| CLICK TO READ THE ARTICLE |
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| Local 2687's full-page ad in the New Haven Register, Thursday, May 25, 1995 (Courtesy of Jim Koutsopolos) |
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| Ff. John Corbett, Pres. Local 2687 (1979-92) |
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In 1982, there were four officers and twenty-six firefighters on each platoon. The contract mandated that there be no fewer than 25 line personnel on duty at all times. Off-duty personnel were hired extra to fill shift vacancies only when more than five personnel were off due to vacation, illness or injury - something that happened rarely.
Chief John Tramontano and Local 2687 President John Corbett concurred that if, through attrition, the maximum manning of 120 line personnel were lowered to meet the minimum number of 100, the Town would save a fortune in wages, benefits and, eventually, pensions represented by the twenty unfilled positions.
To make the plan work, department line personnel would have to be willing to work shift vacancies on a rotating basis whenever they occurred - for straight time. Personnel working these extra shifts were paid from what was called the "Substitutes Straight Time" account. (Time and one-half would kick in only after an employee worked more than 38 extra straight time hours in a given 28-day period.)
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In 1993, Local 2687 and the Town agreed to lower the minimum manning to 23 personnel per shift. Only the minimum number of 92 line positions were budgeted. The savings to taxpayers in unpaid wages, benefits and future pensions for unhired surplus personnel each year dwarfed the cost to properly fund the department's "Substitutes Straight Time" account.
But despite the obvious and significant savings to the Town, some myopic politicians were irked that firefighters had the opportunity to earn extra income by spending as much as eighty or more hours a week on duty.
When planning the 1994-95 budget, Mayor Clayman and Council president and future mayor Craig Henrici intentionally underfunded the Substitutes Straight Time account by hundreds of thousands of dollars. This forced Chief Paul Wetmore, Sr. to keep coming back to the Council to request budget transfers to the underfunded sub-straight account, thus creating the bogus illusion of a budget crisis in the fire department.
Members of Local 2687 were fed up with the blatantly political attempts to paint a false picture of "fire department overtime." The last straw came when Clayman suggested that Hamden revert to an all-volunteer fire department. Even the three volunteer fire companies thought it ridiculous. Local 2687's full-page open letter to Hamden taxpayers (above) tells the whole story.
By 1997, Lillian Clayman's popularity had waned considerably, especially among independents. When she ran for a third re-election that year, she lost by just over 200 votes. Her running mate, Town Clerk Vera Morrison, won by over 2,000 votes.
Posted 6/5/15
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HFRA Honorary Member Bernice Stacey
To All Online HFRA Members:
It is with deep regret that we announce that we recently learned of the passing of HFRA Honorary Member Bernice Stacey, widow of our brother retiree Hamden Fire Lieutenant Richard Stacey (1921-1989). Bernice was 89 when she passed on November 21, 2012 in Norwalk.
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| August 1993 - Training with Tower 1 (Photo by Shirley Mangler) |
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Newly promoted Captain Bobby Viglione was assigned to Platoon 4, where he was the officer on Tower 1, the 1991 Pierce. Pictured alongside Bob in this August 1993 photo are Firefighters Gary Couture, Dave McDermott and Harold Mangler, the first two working extra duty on Platoon 4 that day. Captains didn't start donning white work shirts until sometime after this photo was taken.
This photo was among a new cache of photos recently provided by department photographer Shirley Mangler. Many more to come!
Posted 6/5/15
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1972 News Photo: Women Someday Serving in the Fire Service
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This 8 x 10 news photo, taken in October of 1972, was purchased recently on eBay from a Florida vendor. We couldn't resist. The lovely lady behind the wheel of Hamden's nearly new 1970 Maxim 100' aerial is New Haven Register staff reporter Jan Hemming, who was doing a story on the possibility of women serving as career firefighters.
According to the blurb on the back of the photo, provided by United Press International, Ms. Hemming opined that "Fire fighting isn't for the ladies. The [airpacks] are too big. The fire jacket feels like your father's overcoat and the hat - well, there goes the hairdo." (You've come a long way, baby!)
Posted 6/5/15
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Here's Firefighter Bobby Slater seven years later, getting ready to drive the 1970 Maxim aerial truck in the 1979 Memorial Day Parade. The truck is a little older than it was in the above photo, and Bob doesn't hold a candle to the driver, either. Nonetheless, it's a great photo.
Posted 6/5/15
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| Memorial Day 1979 |
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55 Years Ago
June Fire School
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| New Haven Register, Friday, June 10, 1960 (Courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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Four career and four volunteer department members attended June Fire School at the New Haven Fire Training Center on Chestnut Street in 1960. The four career members included Batt. Chief Daniel Hume, who was the department's "Drillmaster" at the time, and Firefighters Robert "Ace" Callahan, Dick Carney and Dick Stacey.
Of the four volunteers, all of Co. 5, three would go on to join the department. Tom Doherty joined seven months later, in January 1961. Walt Macdowall and Bill Davin would follow in 1965. Tom Doherty is pictured with a white helmet shield because at the time he was captain of Company 5.
Posted 6/5/15
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