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FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2019
Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary
Next regular update is Friday, June 14th.
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50 Years Ago
Hamden's "Firemen's Field Day"
Sunday, June 8, 1969
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From 1964 until the mid-1970s, the four Hamden volunteer fire companies organized an annual field day at Brooksvale Park on the second Saturday of June. Hamden's volunteer and paid personnel assembled teams to compete in various events based very loosely on certain fire service activities. Trophies were awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each event.
Clem Wetmore, father of retired Chief Paul Wetmore, Sr., was the department's Supt. of Alarms and Apparatus until his 1968 retirement. A founding member of the Mix District Volunteer Fire Co. No. 7, Clem often took home movies of the field day events. Clem's son, Jim Wetmore, recently lent Clem's film of the 1969 field day to the HFRA for digitalization.
For the 50th anniversary of the Hamden Firemen's Field Day of June 8, 1969, an eight minute compilation of the film has been posted on YouTube. Many of the retirees, past and present, can be recognized in the film Enjoy.
Originally posted 6/6/14
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High Angle Rescue Training at York Hill
Parking Garage Featured in HFD Video
All images are stills from Ff. Tom Paranzino's video.
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Website thanks to Lieut. Kevin P. Martin for providing this article.
Organized in 1976 by then-Lieut. John Tramontano and Firefighter Bill Coppola, it was the department's "Mountain Rescue Team," an elite group of Hamden firefighters specially trained in mountain climbing techniques in order to carry out those high elevation rescues usually associated with inexperienced climbers at Sleeping Giant.
Over the past four decades the team was responsible for numerous lifesaving rescues, not only on "the Giant," but also from other high elevation risks in the Greater Hamden area.
As we approach the third decade of the 21st century, the department no longer has a "mountain rescue team," per se. Today, all department members train with the equipment on Squad 1, which carries all of our high angle and confined space equipment and is still considered our special rescue apparatus.
The members assigned to Station 4 are usually more familiar with the specialized equipment on Squad 1, but all companies train together throughout the year to stay fresh on the various rescue disciplines.
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Firefighter Tom Paranzino was the drone operator and put together this outstanding video from the footage he took.
CLICK HERE or HERE to view Firefighter Paranzino's video.
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Spring is usually a good time to refresh on high angle rescue. As the warmer weather sets in we see a lot more activity at Sleeping Giant and West Rock parks. With the increase in activity comes the higher likelihood of emergencies.
This particular high angle rescue training was conducted on Friday, May 31st at the Quinnipiac University parking garage on York Hill. When Quinnipiac is not in session the garage is an excellent place to train and the university generously allows us to use it.
The companies involved in this training were Squad 1, Rescue 1, Engine 5, Engine 9, Engine 2, Rescue 2, and Tower 1. Companies rotated throughout the training at various times and Engine 3 was left in service to provide coverage for south end calls.
After a brief overview of setting up anchors, the crew members set up a "main line," the line used for lowering the rescuer and possibly for hauling. The crew also set up a "belay line," which is used as the safety line. The main line and belay line are on separate anchors for safety and redundancy.
After a couple of basic rappels by some newer members, a more complex scenario, commonly referred to as a "pick-off," was practiced by members of Squad 1. This involved lowering a rescuer down to a stranded and/or injured climber, placing the victim in a rescue harness, attaching the victim to the rope system and rescuer, and then lowering the rescuer and victim safely down to the ground.
This seems to be the most popular scenario we encounter for high angle rescues at Sleeping Giant State Park, where novice climbers try to scale the quarry on their own and get stuck halfway up. The plan of attack for this rescue is to send personnel to the top of the quarry, set up a main line and belay line using some sort of "bomb proof" anchors at the top of the quarry, and lowering the rescuer down to the victim.
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| Setting up the anchor lines |
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There are of course many other types of rescues that happen at the park. Over the past few years we have had a lot of lost hikers, medicals, twisted ankles/lower extremity injuries which have required us to place a patient in a stokes basket and do a "carry-out" to the closest ATV access.
The Stokes basket can be secured to the ATV for an easy drive down the tower trail back to the parking area. We have ATVs at Stations 5 and 9 which we can utilize. Sometimes these carry-outs are simple, other times they are longer and more complex carries that require the use of the wheel which can be attached to the bottom of the Stokes basket to help take a lot of the weight.
Some carry-outs can also include tough terrain which could require a "slope rescue" scenario which can include the need to use a lowering line which is attached to the Stokes basket, with members in harnesses that are also tied into the stokes basket for added safety.
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Sleeping Giant State Park remains closed due to the tornado damage suffered just over a year ago, resulting in a significant drop in call volume due to its closure. The damage was unbelievable.
Crews are now in the process of repairing the Tower Trail. Large machines had to use the trail to access the mountain in order to clear trees, causing significant damage. Some blasting has been required in certain locations in order to widen the trail.
Most of the park's trails have been "opened" by the volunteer crews who have worked at the park since the storm. It is hoped that the park will be opening up again soon. But when it does, our call volume to the park is likely to increase significantly.
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| The Hamden Chronicle, Thursday, June 9, 1949 |
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70 Years Ago
Study Finds Department Lacking in Several Areas
This week in 1949, Hamden's "Civic Association Council" called on Hamden's Board of Selectman to commission a study of the Hamden Fire Department and how the service might be improved. The Council wanted it clear that they were not criticizing the competence of either the paid or volunteer forces but, among other things, the fire stations were all undermanned and poorly located.
The group asserted that four of the department's six paid fire stations were too close to the New Haven city line. Indeed, the Highwood Station, only six-tenths of a mile from the Humphrey station, was almost at the city line. The Merritt Street and Whitneyville stations were both within a mile of it. The town was growing rapidly toward the north end, which was served only by the town hall and Mt. Carmel fire stations.
A study was subsequently conducted by the National Board of Fire Underwriters, which suggested closing the Highwood station and merging its apparatus and personnel with the Humphrey station.
Later in 1949, the members of the Humphrey Hook & Ladder Association voted to donate their station to the town, which converted it two years later into a three-bay station. On October 1, 1951, the Highwood station closed, and the apparatus and personnel quartered there (Engine 1 and the ladder truck) were moved to the newly remodeled Station 2.
The ladder company remained at Station 2 until April 9, 1976, when it was reassigned to Mt. Carmel. Engine 1 remained an active engine company at Station 2 until 1993, although it had been inactive for several years in the 1960s and 70s.
Posted 6/7/2019
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Mount Carmel c. 1930
Mount Carmel was still quite rural at the start of the 1930s. This view of Whitney Avenue looking north shows the stone pillars at the entrance to St. Mary's Cemetery on the far left. The head of the Giant is clearly visible at the right. That white building is still around, now a law office just south of Sisk Brothers Funeral Home. The Waterbury trolley is heading south on Whitney. The trolley tracks along Whitney Avenue would disappear in 1937 when the road was re-paved. The Dixwell Avenue and State Street tracks remained for more than another decade. Trolleys throughout the greater New Haven area were all gone as of September 26, 1948.
Posted 6/7/2019
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ANNOUNCEMENT
June 16, 2019 will mark the 10th anniversary of this website. After ten years of editing this website, I will be ending the weekly Home page updates on Friday, June 28th.
The site will remain active, just the way it was when it started in 2009, with periodic announcements, special features, and the occasional commemoration of a significant fire, emergency, or department event. And, of course, the archives will continue to grow and be available to our members and subscribers. D.G.J.
387 Weekly Updates - 3 to go!
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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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