We are in the process of archiving all weekly updates by the month. All of the weekly updates for this month are on this page.
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July 2021
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| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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| CLICK here for daily flag status |
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 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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| Letitia Flagge |
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Letitia M. Flagge
(1913 - 2014)
It is with deep regret that we announce the January 4th passing of HFRA Honorary Member Letitia "Tish" Flagge, which was reported in this morning's edition of The New Haven Register. She had celebrated her 100th birthday last July.
"Mrs. Flagge," as she was respectfully known to those of us who were on the job prior to her 1978 retirement, became the first civilian employee of the Hamden Fire Department in October 1957 when she was hired as secretary for Chief Raymond C. Spencer and Marshal Al Purce. She was working for Chief V. Paul Leddy and Marshal Bob O'Donnell when she retired in 1978 at age 65.
Tish was inducted as an Honorary Member of the HFRA in August 2011. When representatives of the association presented her with flowers in honor of her centennial birthday last summer, Mrs. Flagge said, "I always loved my firemen. They were always there for me." A very friendly and lovely lady, Letitia Flagge will be missed.
Her funeral will take place tomorrow, Wednesday January 8th at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. More details are in the Register obituary - link below.
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| HFRA Winter MeetingNEXT Thursday, January 9th at NOONHamden Elks' Lodge, 175 School Street Meeting AgendaTreasurer's Annual Report for 2013Anything for the Good of the Association MenuBuffet - $6.00 - Penne, meatballs & sausage,spaghetti sauce and garlic bread All active, former and retired HFD welcome!
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A "Hands-on" Fire Chief, Tramontano Trained His Troops
on Mountain Rescue Techniques
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| Tramontano executing a Tyrolean Traverse, suspended between two aerial ladders 50' above Bassett Field |
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In March 1988, John Tramontano was nearly four years into his tenure as Hamden's fire chief when he conducted this high elevation rescue training session at Bassett Field for several firefighters who were interested in joining the department's Mountain Rescue Team.
Being chief of the department didn't prevent him from getting back into training mode, especially when it came to climbing. Pictured here sans his trademark mustache, "Tram" was in the middle of executing a Tyrolean Traverse, up 50' between the aerial ladders of Trucks 1 and 2.
Tramontano was instrumental in organizing the team a dozen years earlier with Bill Coppola, Ray Reilly, Ed Charbonneau, Chick Manware and several other climbing enthusiasts.
Posted 1/3/14
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| Rope suspended up 50' between aerial ladders |
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| Ff. Fred "Chick" Manware belaying a line for the Chief |
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These exercises were not simply "rope tricks." They were meant to build confidence while helping to develop and maintaIn those climbing skills required of the Mountain Rescue Team members.
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Chief John Tramontano and Firefighter Fred "Chick" Manware assist Hamden's first female career firefighter, Kerry Castracane, as she prepares for an ascent up the rope attached to the aerial ladder on Truck 1.
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| The nylon hose straps made improvised stirrups |
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| Success in what is definitely not an easy maneuver. |
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| Ff. Dennis Harrison gives it a shot . . . |
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| . . . and heads on up. |
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1956 Dawns With a Nasty Cold Weather Fire in Spring Glen
Quinnipiac College Dorm Sustains $25,000 in Damages on Jan. 2
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| Quinnipiac College in 1956 - Whitney Avenue and Servoss Street |
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Cold temperatures and a frozen hydrant made things difficult for Hamden firefighters on the second day of 1956, when fire broke out in the second floor of a Quinnipiac College faculty dormitory at the corner of Ford and Waldon Streets in Spring Glen.
Originally known as Larson College, Quinnipiac College's main building (pictured above) was located at the corner of Whitney Avenue and Servoss Street. The college moved to its present Mt. Carmel campus in 1962. As Quinnipiac University since 2000, the school now occupies a much larger chunk of Mt. Carmel than it did 50 years ago.
For many years after Quinnipiac College moved out, their Whitney Avenue building was occupied by Hamden's Board of Education. In March 1988, long after being vacated, the second floor and attic sustained significant damage in a fire of unknown origin. The building was eventually purchased by a private buyer and transformed into a very high-end assisted living facility, Larson Place.
Posted 1/3/14
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| March 1988 - Ff. Gary Couture and Cmdr. Jack Laffin |
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| Ff. John Corbett - First president of Local 2687 (1979-92) |
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| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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| CLICK here for daily flag status |
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 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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Many Hands Make Light Work
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The boys at Headquarters are seen here giving a 1965 version of "detailing" to the department's 1962 Rambler, recently inherited by Marshal Al Purce following the delivery of Chief Leddy's brand new '65 Chevy.
Left to right are Hugh McLean, at the rear wheel, Tom Doherty, Jerold Bradbury, Bill LaVelle and Dick Stacey. The Rambler, now designated as "Car 41," was purchased originally from Hamden's Goodman Motors and delivered March 2, 1962.
(This I.A. Sneiderman photograph, dated 1965, is courtesy of Ff. Brian Leddy)
Posted 1/10/14
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| March 1988 - Firefighter Ray Ramelli and Asst. Supt. Mike Murray at Bassett Field watching the climbing training featured in last week's update. |
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| We Remember (2014) |
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The HFRA "We Remember" memorial video has been updated to January 1, 2014, with many new photos, better lettering and higher resolution imaging.
Running time is 7 minutes.
Posted 1/10/14
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| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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| CLICK here for daily flag status |
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 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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| Dep. Chief Designate Gary Merwede |
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| Gary Merwede Named Deputy Fire Chief
The website has been informed that veteran Hamden Fire Department officer, Lt. Gary Merwede, has been named by Mayor Scott Jackson to replace Deputy Chief Robert Surprise, who retired two months ago after 33 years of service. Merwede, who is in his 20th year with the department, is scheduled to be sworn in at 11:00 a.m. this coming Tuesday, January 21st in the rotunda of Hamden Memorial Town Hall. As Deputy Fire Chief, Merwede will be second in command of the department, which is headed by Chief David Berardesca. More details will be posted here as they become available.
The members of the HFRA wish Deputy Chief Merwede all the very best in his new assignment!
Posted 1/17/14
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40 Years Ago
January 17, 1974 - HFD Goes Diesel
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| The New Haven Register, Thursday, January 17, 1974 (Courtesy of Gil Spencer) |
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57 Years Ago
Firefighters Saved a Classic Hamden Eatery from an Early Demise
Only those Hamden folks who are nearing or in full-blown geezerhood will remember the "Dairy Isle," a Carvel/Dairy-Queen type of "take-out" ice cream establishment that was situated on the west side of Whitney Avenue just north of Lincoln Street. But most Hamden folks today are quite familiar with the Glenwood Drive-In, which is what opened there in 1955 when the Dairy Isle went under.
The original Glenwood stood just a few feet south of the present building. In January 1965, the old building was torn down following the construction of a more modern fully-enclosed building, which has greatly expanded since. But the razing of the old building might have occured a lot sooner had it not been for a rapid response by Hamden firefighters eight years earlier.
On Wednesday, January 23, 1957, an early morning fire at the Glenwood did considerable damage to a storage room. Fortunately, Hamden firefighters intervened quickly and the Glenwood survived with little structural damage. Well known throughout Connecticut and the northeast, this Hamden treasure will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year.
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| The New Haven Evening Register, Wednesday, January 23, 1957 (Courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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| The Glenwood Drive-In Today |
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Having opened in 1955, the Glenwood predates Hamden's first McDonald's, which is one of the oldest in the northeast. The Glenwood Drive-in has been serving what many consider to be the best hamburgers, hotdogs, seafood, fries and rings anywhere.
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January 1965
The scan of a microfilm printout at left is from the January 28, 1965 edition of The Hamden Chronicle (courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society).
Despite entirely different circumstances surrounding the old Glenwood's demolition, the caption, "ANOTHER HAMDEN RESTAURANT BITES THE DUST," lumps its disappearance in with the Weather Vane and Reilly's restaurants, both of which were destroyed by fire within the previous month.
In the news photo at left, the "new" Glenwood can be seen in the background as the old building "bites the dust." The roofline of the newer building has been modified in recent years.
Posted 1/17/14
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| The New Haven Evening Register, Tuesday, January 21, 1944 (Courtesy of the James Strain family and the Hamden Historical Society) |
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Seventy years ago this week the Hamden Board of Selectmen named Capt. Albert Purce as Hamden's fire marshal in addition to his full time duties as shift commander of one of two platoons of Hamden career fire personnel.
It would be almost five more years before Purce would come off the line to perform his marshal duties full time.
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1939 Dedication Plaque
CLICK either image to enlarge
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| May 1939 Dedication Plaque for the 1939 Diamond-T |
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| (Photo by I.A. Sneiderman) |
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Commissioners Al Ruwet and Tom Miller are pictured above with Chief Charles Loller next to the department's new Diamond-T 500 GPM pumper, manufactured by Woods Engineering Services of Topsfield, Massachusetts and delivered on June 13, 1939.
This pumper was assigned to Headquarters (Station 4) and designated as Engine 4 until October 1954, when it was transferred to Station 6. With the shuffling of pumpers following the 1959 delivery of the Maxim "cab-forward," the 1939 Diamond-T was assigned to Volunteer Co. 7. It was auctioned off, minus the dedication plaque, to a private buyer in February 1977 and is believed to be still around (somewhere).
Posted 1/1714
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| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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| CLICK here for daily flag status |
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 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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| Dep. Chief Merwede Takes Oath |
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Deputy Chief Gary Merwede Sworn In
20-year Hamden Fire Department veteran, Gary Merwede was sworn in as Hamden's Deputy Fire Chief on Tuesday morning, January 21st. Merwede, the seventh department member to serve as the department's official second-in-command, replaces Deputy Chief Robert Surprise, who retired November 30th after 33 years of service.
Addressing dozens of friends, co-workers and former co-workers, Merwede declared, “My job, as I see it, is pretty straight forward: To work with the Chief and see that our membership is well-equipped and safe; to advance the agenda of public safety in terms of our community; and to protect and preserve the fine reputation of the Hamden Fire Department, which was earned in part by the firefighters, officers and chiefs who came before us." He concluded, "I look forward to the challenge of my new office and look forward to working with you all.”
The ceremony, which included Mayor Scott Jackson, Chief David Berardesca and Town Clerk Vera Morrison, took place in the rotunda of Hamden's newly renovated Memorial Town Hall. Coincidentally, the last such ceremony in the rotunda was Merwede's 2004 swearing-in as lieutenant.
The members of the HFRA wish Deputy Chief Merwede all the very best in his new assignment!
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Posted 1/24/14
Photos and video by Bob Mordecai
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| Hamden Chief David Berardesca congratulates newly-sworn Deputy Chief Gary Merwede |
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| Gary and Cheryl Merwede |
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| Dep. Chief Merwede is congratulated by his predecessor, Bob Surprise, who served as Hamden's Dep. Fire Chief from March 2010 until his retirement in November. |
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| Dozens of co-workers and family members filled the rotunda of Memorial Town Hall for the first HFD swearing-in there since Merwede took the oath for lieutenant in 2004. |
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| Photo courtesy of Tom Doherty (CLICK to enlarge) |
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The website received this photo several years ago from Tom Doherty. It was taken sometime between 1951 and 1954. Most of the people can be identified. (CLICK to enlarge)
From left to right: The older gentleman is Hamden Building Inspector Edward W. Blake. The face of the firefighter peering out between Mr. Blake and the child is Blake's son Warren, a Hamden firefighter. The small child is probably Warren's son. Next is Firefighter Burt Hillocks.
The partially hidden firefighter in the officer's soft hat is most likely Supt. Clement Wetmore who, according to the 1950 town report, "was advanced from Superintendent of Fire Alarms to Lieutenant in charge of the fire alarm system and of apparatus maintenance."
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Next is off-duty firefighter Frank Eitler, then Public Works employee Rico Verneris, and off-duty firefighters Luke Tobin and Paul Rosadina. At the far right are Capt. Everett Doherty, commander of Platoon 2, and Chief Raymond C. Spencer.
We do not know the occasion that prompted this photograph, but we may have identified the location. Since three members of the Blake family were present, it seemed likely that the location may have been the Blake home at 19 Seminole Avenue. Looking closely to the right of Chief Spencer you can discern what looks like St. Mary's Cemetery off in the distance between Evergreen and Whitney.
John O'Hare, who worked on old Platoon 2 with these guys, recalls that many Hamden firefighters worked part-time at Public Works in those days. Among them were Frank Eitler, Luke Tobin and Paul Rosadina, all pictured here. They were probably working with PW employee Rico Verneris that day. Anyone know more about this photo?
Revised 1/27/14
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1/25/14 - Ed. Note: The mystery behind this photo has been solved. Tune in next week.
1/27/14 - Thank you to Bill Bossoli, Richie Lostritto, Bob Slater, John O'Hare and Gil Spencer for their help with identifying everyone.
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| Don LaBanca and Bob Mordecai |
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| IMPROMPTU REUNION
CLASS OF '78
A swearing-in ceremony is often an occasion on which old friends and colleagues meet and greet each other after a long absence. We met up with two members of the Class of 1978 who attended last Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony at the town hall rotunda.
Battalion Chief Don LaBanca, today the most senior member of the department, and Bob Mordecai were two of six new recruits who came on the job in May 1978. They both made lieutenant in 1984. Bob is now president of the HFRA. He noted that it was his lieutenant's badge that Gary Merwede inherited upon his 2004 retirement.
Don and Bob's recruit class was conducted by Dep. Chief Ken Harrington and also included Dennis Baker, John Bellmore, Wayne Lowry and Jim Beirne.
Posted 1/24/14
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| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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| CLICK here for daily flag status |
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 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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| Nancy Hurlburt |
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HFRA Honorary Member Nancy Saccani Hurlburt
(1926 - 2014)
We regret to announce the passing on January 31st, of HFRA Honorary Member Nancy Saccani Hurlburt, widow of Hamden Firefighter Howard Hurlburt, Sr. and mother of brother HFD retirees Clark D. Hurlburt and the late Howard Hurlburt, Jr. She was 87. Nancy served as Hamden Town Clerk from 1987 until 1995, and was a member of Hamden's Legislative Council in 1985.
Funeral from BEECHER & BENNETT, 2300 Whitney Ave., Hamden, Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church at 10 a.m. Friends may call SUNDAY from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Interment will be in Centerville Cemetery.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Clark and the rest of the Hurlburt family.
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| July 1982 - Firefighters Ralph Dievert and Ralph Tomaselli during ladder training (Photo by John Tramontano) |
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100 Years Ago!
Coutts Brothers Served in Whitneyville's Fire Company
Today, Grandniece Donates Their Badges to the HFRA
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| William Coutts - Co. 3 Badge #16 |
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| Born in England, brothers William and Edward Coutts emigrated to the United States with their parents and four brothers in 1892. By the 19-teens they were living in Whitneyville, employed as milkmen with the Brock-Hall Dairy Company and members of the Whitneyville Volunteer Fire Association.
Many Whitneyville volunteer firefighters were employees of that dairy, which probably accounts for the white milkmen's uniforms they were sporting in the 1913 photo of the Co. 3 Hose-Laying Team (below). The captain of the team was Henry Hall.
The Coutts brothers' grandniece, Mary Ehrler, recently donated their Co. 3 badges to the HFRA.
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| Edward Coutts - Co. 3 Badge #46 |
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Mary Ehrler of Bethany, whose late husband, George, was a New Haven firefighter, was eager to find a good home for her two great uncles' Whitneyville Co. 3 badges. As her family's historian, Mary had kept the badges in safekeeping for decades. But she was concerned about what would happen to the badges after she was gone. After being referred to the HFRA by B/C Bill Fitzmaurice last December, Mary recently presented the badges to the Association.
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| #16 - Issued to William Coutts |
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| Mary Ehrler Donated Co. 3 Badges 16 and 46 |
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| #46 - Issued to Edward Coutts |
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| Co. 3 Firefighter Edward Coutts - c. 1914 |
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| William Coutts - 2nd Infantry, N.Y. National Guard |
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At left is a one hundred year old photograph of Edward Coutts (1890-1965), in his Whitneyville Co. 3 dress uniform. Firefighter Coutts was issued badge #46, shown in that photo.
Above is brother, William Coutts, pictured when he was a member of the 2nd Infantry, New York National Guard in 1916. Before working for Brock-Hall, William had been a blacksmith Born in 1887, he died in the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918.
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Both of the Coutts brothers are in this classic 1913 photo of Co. 3's hose-laying team, a photo that has been on this website since the beginning. Mary Ehrler, whose grandfather, John Coutts, was brother of William and Edward, provided the website with an old newspaper article that identified all of the Co. 3 members in this photo. We have added their names to this version of the photo. (CLICK to enlarge)
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| Whitneyville Volunteer Fire Company 1913 Hose-Laying Champs (CLICK to enlarge to read names) |
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1850s Fire Tower Designed by Coutts Family Firm in England
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David and Sarah Jane Coutts came to America in October of 1892 with their six boys, all under the age of 14. William was five and Edward two.
In 19th century England, William and Edward's grandfather, Charles Coutts, owned a company that built carriages. Charles Coutts' great-great-granddaughter, Mary Ehrler, shared this original design for a mid-19th century fire apparatus tower from the family's carriage manufacturing company.
Posted 1/31/14
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"History" is today, too.
The things we see and expereince today will always be of interest to us and others many years down the road. Think about it! We really never take much notice of the things around us because we take them for granted. We see and expereince them every day. Big deal, we think to ourselves. Who cares? But then we look at photos of the same surroundings from twenty, thirty, or fifty years ago and we suddenly realize that everything changed. We think about a long-gone building, or landmark, or friend and think, why didn't I take a photo? Well, some of us did.
A significant chronicler of department life years ago was John Tramontano. While serving as the department's training officer from 1981 until he was appointed chief in 1984, John documented many department activities on color slides, paid for out of his own pocket. After the HFRA was formed in 2009, John donated hundreds of his slides to be shared on the website.
Changing the Hose on Engine 9
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| July 1982 (Photo by John Tramontano) - CLICK to enlarge |
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Before the introduction of LDH supply lines in the mid-1980s, the cloth-jacketed 2-1/2" and 3" supply lines on each pumper had to be changed periodically and after each use. In this July 1982 photo, members of Platoon 4 are changing the hose on Engine 9's 1965 Mack.
The "work uniform" when changing hose on a hot summer day was whatever you wanted. Pictured here are Jerry Dinnen (in red shirt), Ray Dobbs on the tailboard (in white tanktop) and Harold Mangler (no shirt).
Jerry, Harold and an unidentified firefighter are connecting the next length of 3" hose to be loaded into the hosebed. Up top in the white T-shirt is George Patten. The other firefighter cannot be identified.
Posted 1/31/14
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55 Years Ago!
North Haven Brick Co., State Street, Hamden
Saturday, January 31, 1959
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| FF. Edward Bevins at the top of the ladder. |
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| These photos by Donald Yoshua appeared in the New Haven Sunday Register the day after a January 31, 1959 fire destroyed the home of a 10-member Hamden family on State Street.
Chandler Brainard was there as a young member of Hamden's Civil Defense Fire Auxiliary. He offers vivid and insightful recollections of that day in an article he wrote for the website nearly five years ago.
Posted 1/31/14
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| Firefighters prepare to attack with a 2-1/2" as Ff. Warren Blake operates the pump of Engine 3 (CLICK to enlarge) |
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Photo No Longer a Mystery
It was either "Farewell" or "Welcome Home!"
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| Gathering For Firefighter Warren Blake (CLICK to enlarge) |
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| Portion of the HFD roster from the 1951 Hamden Annual Town Report |
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This photo is believed to have been taken at a gathering at Warren Blake's home sometime in the winter of 1951 or 52. Chief Raymond C. Spencer and several on and off-duty firefighters stopped by to wish him either farewell or welcome home after being called back to active duty in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.
Warren joined the Hamden Fire Department in April 1949. Like all young Hamden firefighters at the time, he was a veteran of World War II, serving as an Electrician's Mate in the United States Navy.
The 1951 Annual Town Report listed Warren as "A.W.L." (absent with leave), referring to his recall to the U.S. Navy. According to fellow retirees who were on the job at the time, Warren returned to duty about a year later with his seniority intact. He retired on his 30th anniversary with the department in 1979.
Warren Blake was a charter member of the HFRA. He passed away in September 2009, shortly after its formation.
Posted 1/31/14
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