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| APRIL 2022
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Important updates will be posted immediately.
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Last update: Thursday, April 28, 2022 - 1234 hrs
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| Mayor Lucian A. DiMeo (1974) |
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Former Hamden Mayor Lucian A. DiMeo Passes Away
Served as Hamden's third mayor from 1973 to 1979
HAMDEN, CT, April 26 - We are saddened to report the April 23rd passing of former Hamden Mayor of Lucian A. DiMeo at Connecticut Hospice in Branford. A Republican, Mr. DiMeo was mayor of Hamden from 1973-1979, served in the Connecticut House of Representatives 1971-1973 and again 1984-1988.
Mayor DiMeo had a strong sense of community service. He was a board director at St. Raphael’s Hospital, and traveled to Haiti twice as a missionary to help with the construction of an outpatient clinic for tuberculosis at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. Mayor DiMeo served in the Army and was an active member of Rotary. He was named Citizen of the Year in 1985 by the Hamden Chamber of Commerce.
It was during the DiMeo's Administration that the fire department acquired a new Rescue 2 and began providing advanced life support EMS with the certification of its first eight paramedics. He also facilitated the Mt. Carmel Volunteer Fire Company's 1975 effort to add an annex to their station in order to accommodate larger fire apparatus for the career personnel stationed there, thus adding decades more of service life to that station.
Please keep the DiMeo family in your thoughts and prayers at this sad time.
Lucian A. DiMeo obituary - CLICK HERE - New Haven Register
Posted 4/26/2022
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Hamden Lowers Flags to Half-Staff
to Honor Former Mayor Lucian A. DiMeo
Hamden – The Town of Hamden honors former Mayor Lucian A. DiMeo, who passed away April 23, 2022.
Mayor DiMeo served with distinction as Hamden’s mayor for three terms, from 1973-1979, and was selected as Hamden’s Finest Mayor in 2007. The planning and initial construction of the Miller Memorial Library began under Mayor DiMeo’s tutelage. Mayor DiMeo supported social services, such as his community development programs, daycare centers, an elderly lunch program, and senior housing
Mayor DiMeo served in the Connecticut House of Representatives for four terms, from 1971-1973 and 1984-1988. Mayor DiMeo also served as the Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals in the late sixties through the early seventies.
CLICK HERE to read Mayor Garrett's entire message.
Posted 2/28/2022
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Additional Vacancies Filled
April 18 - Three more officer vacancies were filled from among the ranks of the department's most veteran firefighters, all of them from the same 2005 graduating class of the Connecticut Fire Academy. Ed Hilbert, Doug O'Rourke, and Scott Blake all joined the department in February 2005. Several others from that class of thirteen Hamden members were also in attendance.
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| The Department's newest officers, Lieutenants Ed Hilbert, Doug O'Rourke, and Scott Blake. Photo by Lt. Joe Anderson |
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Chief Gary Merwede was joined by Mayor Garrett’s Chief of Staff Sean Grace and members of the Hamden Fire Commission to swear-in Firefighters Ed Hilbert, Doug O’Rourke and Scott Blake to the rank of lieutenant. The three are the latest in a long string of department promotions necessitated by last year's departure of an unprecedented number of department members.
CLICK HERE to view several mmore photos of the event taken by Lieut. Joe Anderson
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Seven of the thirteen members of the Connecticut Fire Academy's
Class of 2005 attended Monday's swearing-in of three lieutenants from their class.
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| Photo by Lieut. Joe Anderson - CLICK TO ENLARGE |
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L-R: Ff. Tim Doyle, Dep. Marshal Nelson Hwang, Lt. Scott Blake, Lt. Doug O'Rourke, Ff. Kevin Martin®, Lt. Ed Hilbert, and Capt. Daryl Osiecki. Other 2005 class members were Ff. Brian Leddy, Insp. Brian Gilson, Ff. Cerrone Davis, Ff. Luis Torres, Ff. Paul Tavaras (ret.), and Ff. Christopher Moreland (dec.)
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This photo of Hamden Chief Gary Merwede at the scene of the January 26th two-alarm fire on Savoy Street was one of two photos by Say Je Benjamin that appears in the current (April 2022) New England edition of "1st Responder Newpaper."
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Spring 2022 HFRA Meeting
April 17 - In its first maskless gathering in more than two years, the Association's 49th meeting was held last Wednesday in the Elks Hall with over 30 people in attendance, including several friends of Bob Slater, some of whom, like Bob, had an early connection with the department.
The Association welcomed new Regular Members John Spencer and Paul Turner, as well as Honorary Members Pete Laffin and Jerry "Fritz" Keniry. Pete and Fritz volunteered to assist Bill, Fitzmaurice in organizing an HFRA Family Picnic at Brooksvale as our July meeting. More on that as we get closer to July. The meeting minutes will be posted soon.
Any other Regular or Honorary member who wishes to be on the committee, please email Bill Fitzmaurice in care of the website ( hfdbadge102@aol.com).
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| Photo by Don Albert - CLICK TO ENLARGE |
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Front (L-R): Clark Hurlburt, Paul Turner, Bob Mordecai, Ralph Purificato, Chick Manware, Jim Koutsopolos, Harold Mangler, Tom Doherty. Standing (L-R): Dave Johnson, Augie Williams, Dave Berardesca, John Spencer, Bob Slater, Carl Backus, Bob Viglione, Paul Frodel, Bill Fitzmaurice, Bob Westervelt, Pete Laffin, Jerry "Fritz" Keniry.
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| Photo by Bob Mordecai - CLICK TO ENLARGE |
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Front (L-R): Reuel Belcher (son-in-law of Chief Paul Leddy), who grew up behind old Station 3; Eddie Beale; Don Albert; Bob Carangelo, who grew up next to old Station 3; Chuck Bove; Howie Barron. Rear (L-R): Bob Slater, Bob Ellis, grew up on Hartford Turnpike a couple houses down from new Station 3; John Nutcher (John’s brother, Roger is married to Sally Leddy)
In an email following the meeting, Bob Slater remarked that when they were kids, Reuel, Bob Carangelo, Chuck Bove, and he used to set the pins in the basement duckpin bowling alley at old Station 3. Bob wrote, "the four of us got paid by groups to do that, while others may have bowled there on Friday night, which was boys bowling night run by the town. Kenny Shea was in charge of the group. Girls bowled on Saturday mornings."
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HFD OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY
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After almost two years of our firehouses being closed to the public due to the Covid pandemic, to reduce exposure, the Hamden Fire Department is excited to reopen our doors.
The Fire Department will be hosting an open house at Station 2 (71 Circular Avenue) on Saturday April 16th 2022 from 09:00am to 11:00am. The public is welcome to tour our station, with firefighter’s on-hand explaining our daily operations.
Fire Department apparatus will be on grounds for a “touch a truck” opportunity along with demonstrations of our equipment. The Fire Department will be offering fire safety and prevention, community risk reduction and recruitment information.
Firefighters will provide information on our career, job requirements and employment with current applications available for distribution. Our goal is to share our passion for our profession while proactively reducing risk to the community we serve.
The Hamden Fire Department is enthusiastic about this public event, in hopes to engage the community beyond our emergency response.
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TWO MORE NEW CAPTAINS & ONE INSPECTOR
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April 11 - Many active and retired department members were present this morning as newly appointed Fire Inspector Brian Gilson and Captains David Wood and Dan Such were sworn in by Hamden Town Clerk Karimah Mickens in a brief ceremony in the rotunda at Memorial Town Hall.
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80 Years Ago
April 1942 marked the beginning of the modern Hamden Fire Department.
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| New Haven Evening Register, Monday, April 13, 1942 (James Strain Collection, courtesy of the Hamden Historical Society) |
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From 1925, when the Hamden Fire Department was created under the statutes of the state of Connecticut, until 1942, the department was led entirely by volunteer officers. The fire chief and his three assistants were all volunteers. The firefighting personnel of each volunteer company were commanded by their duly elected line officers. The department's paid personnel, which consisted primarily of drivers, operated under the authority of those volunteer officers.
With the country on a war footing for the past four months, the Town of Hamden reorganized the fire department under full-time paid officers in April 1942. Examinations for the positions of fire chief and captain were administered to several veteran firefighters and the appointments, published on April 7, 1942, were based on the exam results.
Raymond C. Spencer, who had been one of the department's volunteer assistant fire chiefs since 1925, was high scorer of the chief's exam. Joseph Hromadka and Albert Purce scored highest on the captain's exam and both were appointed to that position. Runners-up Everett Doherty and Roland Ruwet were appointed lieutenants. Captains Hromadka and Purce each would command one of the department's two platoons. Both platoons consisted of a captain, lieutenant and nine firefighters.
Chief Spencer succeeded Charles Loller, who had been appointed the department's first chief in 1925. Chief Loller, a member of Highwood Company No. 1 since 1898, was also Hamden's Building Inspector. Spencer remained on the job until his retirement in 1960, when he was succeeded by V. Paul Leddy, who held the position for a record 23 years and five months.
Capt. Purce was named fire marshal in 1944. The position became a full-time staff job in 1948. Purce retired in 1968. Doherty was promoted to captain to fill Purce's vacancy in 1949. In 1954, he and the other two captains were elevated to the new position of battalion chief, which was later re-named deputy chief. Dep. Chief Doherty retired in 1966.
Like Doherty, Capt. Hromadka became a battalion chief in 1954 (later "deputy chief") and served until his 1972 retirement. Lieut. Ruwet was later assigned to training duties due to health issues, which took him off the line until his retirement in 1957.
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The members of Hamden's eight volunteer fire companies remained the bulwark of the department until just after the end of World War II, when the number of career members more than doubled, from 23 in 1945 to 55 in 1950.
The Highwood volunteers disbanded in 1951, by which time the Humphrey, Whitneyville and Centerville companies, still active as social organizations, had become inactive in firefighting. Whitneyville had full use of the second floor of their former firehouse on Putnam Avenue until it was sold in 1970.
The Centerville volunteers' Sunday morning card games in the basement of Station 4 were over by the mid-1980s. The Humphrey Volunteer Hook & Ladder Association, whose charter had remained open after their building was given to the town in 1949, disbanded in 2015.
Newspaper accounts suggest that the Merritt Street Co. 6 volunteers were still active in the 1950s, just when Company 9 in West Woods was getting organized. However, both companies eventually disbanded, Company 6 in the early 1960s and Company 9 in 1988.
The Mt. Carmel (1911), Mix District (1924) and Dunbar Hill (1926) volunteer fire companies remain active.
Originally posted 4/7/17
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The New Hamden Fire Department - 1942
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| 1942 - Stations 2, 3 and 6 Personnel (CLICK to enlarge) |
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| 1942 - HQ and Station 5 Personnel (CLICK to enlarge) |
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Front Row: Daniel Hume, Joseph Marchitto, Frank Nolan - Middle Row: Clement Wetmore, Albert Molleur, Capt. Joseph Hromadka, Lieut. Everett Doherty, George Thatcher - Back Row: Stewart Keeler, James Strain, Arthur Norman
| Front Row: Julius Norman, Clem Kammerer, Joseph Dukat, Walter Thomas - Middle Row: David Howe, Sr., Ralph Rosson - Back Row: Capt. Albert Purce, Emil Strain, Robert Reutenauer, Lieut. Roland Ruwet
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Firefighters Ed Kromer and Paul Leddy are not pictured. Leddy, who joined the department on
November 4, 1941, was on department leave with the U.S. Army when these photos were taken. He returned in 1946.
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The Hamden Fire Department, in collaboration with Quinnipiac University, is excited to participate in a Health Fair TOMORROW, Saturday, April 9th from 10am-2pm at the Keefe Community Center (11 Pine Street).
The Fire Department will be on-hand providing public education on fire safety and prevention, community risk reduction, and recruitment information. The Fire Department is committed in making every effort to engage in the community beyond emergency response. Our goal is to share our passion for our profession while proactively reducing risk to the community we serve.
The Fire Department is actively recruiting for entry-level firefighters in hopes to create a workforce that equally represents the diversity of Hamden. Firefighters will be available for information on job requirements and applications will be available for distribution.
There will be Fire Department apparatus on premise providing hands on demonstration of our equipment.The Hamden Fire Department would like to thank the Quinnipiac University Physical Therapy EQUIP Rehab department and the Keefe Community Center for their invitation to this event.
Posted 4/8/2022
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Future EMS Vehicles: A New Look?
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Bob Slater sent the following message with the above photo: "I was checking this out at a Jacksonville Beach event yesterday and didn’t know my son took the picture. Those are my legs by the back door as I was looking in.
"The unit size is between the size of a golf cart and a larger size rescue. The firefighters said they can transport with this or just get someone in it out of the weather to work on them. I just thought it was interesting."
Thanks, Bob. Click on the large photo above to visit their website. Click on the smaller photo at right to view a video about these vehicles being used for EMS.
A 40+-year Florida resident, Bob plans on attending our April 13th meeting at the Elks.
Posted 4/7/2022
(Nice legs, Bob)
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Connecticut residents can now get tested,
and treated at same time for COVID-19.
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HFRA SPRING MEETING
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13th, 12:00 NOON
FREE PIZZA
Hamden Elks Hall
275 School Street
(Masks Optional)
On Zoom as well!
The April meeting Zoom code will be emailed to members who request it:
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Your $15 dues for 2022 can be paid with PayPal
Dues cards will be distributed at the April meeting or by mail.
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| Happy #90 to the Recuperating Rev
The Association's Sunshine Committee paid another visit to HFRA Chaplain Owen Sanderson this past week to wish him a very Happy 90th Birthday. He has been the HFRA chaplain since we organized nearly 13 years ago, and the official department chaplain since November 1, 1970, when Station 3 was dedicated. Unofficially, it has been a lot longer.
The Rev is pictured here with Tom and Dave in his room at Whitney Manor last week, recuperating from a broken leg. He expects to be home by the end of this coming week. If that happens, he plans to attend our Spring meeting on April 13th.
Posted 4/2/2022
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Less than two months after the department received its new Diamond-T ladder truck from Wood Engineering Services in Topsfield, Massachusetts, it took delivery from Woods of this brand new 600 GPM pumper on a 1942 Diamond-T chassis.
This 1950 photo of the truck was taken within a few hundred feet of its Dixwell Avenue quarters at the corner of Morse Street. The building on the far left still stands at #846. The building on the right, at #852, was Tony's Bakery in 1950. The address still exists, but the new building standing there today is quite different.
On October 1, 1951, this pumper and the ladder truck it was housed with at Dixwell and Morse were moved, the ladder truck to Station 2 and the pumper to Station 3 on Putnam Avenue.
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| New Haven Evening Register, Thursday, Feb. 5, 1942 |
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| This 1950 photo of the 1942 Diamond-T 600 GPM courtesy of Chan Brainard |
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Several years after its service at Station 3, this pumper was assigned to Mount Carmel. It was eventually turned over to the new volunteer fire company former in West Woods in 1956.
In 1957, Dunbar Hill Volunteer Co. No. 8 purchased a nearly identical 1942 Diamond-T pumper from Prospect for $2,000. That pumper was rated at 500 GPM.
On February 4, 1977, both of these pumpers were sold to the same private buyer for a total of $1,170. Their current whereabouts are unknown.
Posted 4/2/2022
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| Hamden's 1942 Diamond-T 600 GPM pumper |
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| Dunbar Hill's 1942 Diamond-T 500 GPM pumper |
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These late-1970s photos of both pumpers were taken in the late 1970s, probably at the Engine 260 Musters.
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2022 Local 2687 Retirement Dinner
Dinner Chairman Kevin Recca has announced that the first retirement dinner in three years will take place at Seasons in East Haven on Saturday evening, April 23rd, starting at 7. Notifications will be going out today.
The 2020 and 2021 retirement dinners had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. There have been eighteen retirements since the March 2019 retirement dinner, so there's a lot of catching up to do. The dinner committee is going to honor most of the 2019 and 2020 retirees at this year's dinner. The remainder, which includes a few honorees who cannot attend this year's dinner, will be honored at next year's dinner.
Those being honored at this year's dinner are Inspector Ralph DiFonzo, Lieut. Jay Matthews, Firefighter Kevin Shields, Capt. Hugh O'Callaghan, Asst. Chief Charles Lubowicki, Capt. Edwin Evers, and Asst. Supt. Glenn Tricarico.
The dinner poster at right has all the info on the dinner. Click on the image to enlarge it.
Post 3/8/2022
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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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