| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017
Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary
Next regular update is Friday, September 22nd.
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Sept. 16 - Good News: Received word that John and Barbara Corbett are okay following Irma's wrath. They returned to their home in Punta Gorda yesterday to find only a little damage. They appreciated everyone's concern.
We would like to hear from our other Florida members when they once again have the ability to email.
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Hamden Fire Department
Apparatus Inventory - 1977
Station 2
Engine 1 – 1968 Maxim 1000 g.p.m. pumper
Engine 2 – 1968 Maxim 1000 g.p.m. pumper
Rescue 2 - 1975 Ford Modular
Repair Shop
Car 53 - 1969 Ford "Bucket Truck"
Car 49 - 1973 Chevrolet truck w/utility body
Car 50 - 1955 Ford 1/2 Ton Pickup Truck (CD)
Station 3 - Hartford Tpke
Car 30 - Dep. Chief - 1977 Dodge station wagon
Engine 3 – 1973 Maxim "Telesqurt" 1000 g.p.m. pumper
Truck 2 - 1970 Maxim 100' aerial ladder truck
Engine 6 (Spare) – 1959 Maxim "Cab-Forward" 750 g.p.m. pumper
Station 4 (Headquarters)
Engine 4 – 1973 Maxim 1000 g.p.m. pumper w/foam delivery system
Rescue 1 - 1971 Ford Modular
Station 5
Engine 5 – 1954 Maxim 750 g.p.m. pumper
Truck 1 – 1958 Maxim 75' "Junior" aerial ladder truck
Car 55 - 1960 GMC 3/4 ton Brush Truck
Station 7
Engine 57 – 1951 Maxim 750 g.p.m. pumper
Engine 47 – 1935 Dodge 150 g.p.m. pumper
Station 8
Engine 58 – 1942 Diamond-T 500 g.p.m. pumper
New Station 9 - Johnson & Still Hill
Engine 9 – 1965 Mack 750 g.p.m. pumper
Engine 59 (Vol. 9) – 1952 Maxim 750 g.p.m. pumper
Staff Vehicles
Car 40 - Chief - 1975 Ford LTD sedan - Delivered 8/75 -
Car 41 - Marshal - 1973 Ford Maverick
Car 51 - Training Officer - 1968 Chrysler 4-dr. sedan
Car 48 - Asst. Supt. of Alarms - 1974 Chevy Malibu station wagon
Car 52 - Supt. of Alarms & Apparatus - 1970 Ford station wagon
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By the late 1970s, inflation was skyrocketing nationwide and the town was stalling in contract neogotiations with the Hamden Paid Firemen’s Sick Benefit Association, the firefighters’ bargaining unit since the 1960s.
In 1978, non-management department personnel formed the Hamden Firefighters’ Association (HFA). Finally, after working without a raise for nearly two years, and with the town still stalling on negotiations, the HFA members voted overwhelmingly to join the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).
In March 1979, the Hamden Professional Firefighters Association, Local 2687 became the rank and file’s official bargaining unit. Firefighter John Corbett was elected the local’s first president.
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| Local 2687 Charter - March 19, 1979 (CLICK to enlarge) |
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38 Years Ago
"Stagflation!"
September 17, 1979 - Hamden Firefighters Protest Town's Intransigence
It's hard to imagine today, but in the late 1970s the economy was stagnant and rampant inflation was running at a crazy annual rate of 14%. Many private sector employees were getting annual raises in double-digit percentages. Municipal public safety employees, however, were getting raises in the low single digits - if they got any raises at all.
By late September 1979 Hamden firefighters hadn't received a raise in over two years and were well into their second year without a contract. Despite the union's attempts to negotiate in good faith, the current administration was not "into" negotiating.
On Monday, September 17, 1979, armed with picket signs, dozens of members of the newly-organized Hamden Professional Firefighters, Local 2687, IAFF, hit the sidewalks in front of Memorial Town Hall. When the town hall closed at five o'clock, picketing resumed in front of the mayor's new campaign headquarters in Highwood, which opened that night. November saw the election of Hamden's fourth mayor, Richard Harris.
Originally posted 9/14/10
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| Paul Petrillo, Bill Coppola and Harry Cubbellotti were among dozens of Hamden firefighters picketing town hall. (Dan Satran photo from the New Haven Journal-Courier courtesy of Paul Petrillo) - CLICK to enlarge |
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| Frank Kafka, John Corbett, Bob Macauley, Dave Johnson and Wayne Lowry on the picket line at town hall. (New Haven Register staff photo by Patricia G. Barnes) - CLICK to enlarge |
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| Shelton's Echo Hose Co. Aerial Ladder Hoisted "Old Glory" |
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| Memorial Day 1969 (Ed Doiron Sr. Photo) |
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The featured apparatus at this year's Engine 260 Muster on September 9th was an American LaFrance 600 g.p.m. triple combination pumper and chemical truck, purchased in 1925 by the Phoenix Engine Co. in Middletown, New York. It was later sold as a novelty to a Cape Cod restaurant.
In 1960, the pumper was rescued from a trip to the junkyard by North Haven's West Ridge Volunteer Fire Company, which drove it in local parades during the 1960s and 70s. This photo was snapped at Hamden's 1969 Memorial Day Parade.
To coincide with North Haven's hosting of the Connecticut State Firefighters' Convention in 2012, members of West Ridge began a meticulous restoration of the pumper, including relettering it with the original Phoenix Engine Co. name. The result was outstanding.
Posted 9/15/17
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| Better than "Showroom New" |
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| Original 1925 Factory Photo |
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| The 2012 restoration included the original 1925 lettering for Middletown, New York's Phoenix Engine Co. |
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| Until the early 1930s, most American-LaFrance, Seagrave and Ahrens-Fox apparatus were right-hand-drive, making it easier for the driver to "spot" hydrants. |
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Below is a small sampler of some of the other vintage fire apparatus at the 46th Annual Engine 260 Fire Muster. CLICK on any image to enlarge to 1200 pixels wide.
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| 1941 Mack |
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| Mahopac, New York's Oren pumper |
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| 1946 Mack |
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| North Haven - West Ridge's 1951 Mack. Like Hamden, North Haven dabbled with white in the 1950s. |
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| 1934 American-LaFrance |
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| Meshanticut Vol. Fire Co. - Cranston, RI |
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American-LaFrance's FIRST!
This gem was also at Engine 260 last Saturday. According to Walter McCall's 1975 book, American Fire Engines Since 1900, this 1910 American-LaFrance "Type 5 Combination Chemical and Hose Car," delivered to Lenox, Massachuetts on August 27, 1910, was the manufacturer's first motorized fire apparatus, It carried Serial No. 1.
Posted 9/15/17
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| Lenox's 107-year old "chemical car" was American-LaFrance's FIRST motorized fire engine - looks new! (CLICK to enlarge) |
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Non-Members May Subscribe to HFRA archived web pages.
For a $10 annual subscription, non-HFRA members may access
all HFRA archives, except the "Members Only" pages.
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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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