| Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc. |
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2016
Website is updated every Friday - Important interim updates will be posted when necessary
Next regular update is Friday, September 16th.
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Tomorrow!
45th Annual Engine 260
Antique Fire Apparatus Show and Muster
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Eisenhower Park, Milford
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08:00 Motorcade line-up at the Liberty Rock Shopping Plaza
08:30 Firematic flea market opens at muster site
09:00 Motorcade through Milford center to Eisenhower Park
10:00 Opening ceremonies
10:30 Competition begins
17:00 Awards and trophy presentations
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Featured this year is a beautifully restored 90-year old Mack AC "Bulldog" pumper, owned and operated by Henry Sanford of Redding, Connecticut.
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| 1926 MACK AC PUMPER - owned and operated by Henry Sanford of Redding, CT (Click to enlarge) |
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ALL FLAGS TO BE FLOWN AT HALF-STAFF SUNDAY
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| Hamden Station 4, Saturday, September 15, 2001 |
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From Governor Dannel Malloy: All U.S. and State of Connecticut flags will fly at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Sunday, September 11, 2016, in remembrance of the nearly 3,000 men, women, and children who lost their lives in the 2001 terrorist attacks. Accordingly, since no flag should fly higher than the U.S. flag. All state, local, municipal, corporate, and other flags should also be lowered during this same duration of time.
In addition, the Governor also announced that the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge in New Haven - informally known as the Q Bridge - will be illuminated in red, white, and blue lights beginning at dusk on the evenings of Saturday, September 10, and Sunday, September 11. Beacons capable of projecting light nearly six miles into the clear night sky will be lit until 1:00 a.m. during those nights.
"The terrorist attacks of 2001 shook our entire nation, and here in Connecticut hundreds of family members and countless friends lost loved ones - innocent men, women, and children whose lives were forever impacted by senseless acts of hate. No amount of time will ever cause us to forget. With each passing year, we mourn those whose lives were taken all too soon, and we renew our resolve to celebrate the indomitable will and spirit of our nation, which cannot be broken," Governor Malloy said. "We also take this day as an opportunity to honor first responders - firefighters, police officers, and EMS workers - who constantly put the lives of others before their own, as we witnessed on that day fifteen years ago. And we pray for the brave men and women of the United States military who have dedicated their lives to defending our values and protecting our nation.
Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said, "September 11 is a guidepost in our national history - a day of remembrance and of unity. We will never forget the thousands of citizens who perished in the attacks, or the resilience of the American people who rebuilt shattered lives and smoldering landscapes. The brave men and women who responded by putting on a uniform, the tireless emergency workers from across the nation who delivered equipment and another set of helping hands, the medical providers, the educators, the philanthropists, and the everyday people who waited for hours to donate blood. The legacy of those we lost is furthered by the millions of citizens who commit good acts and civic service in memory of a terrible moment in history and in service of a better tomorrow."
There are 161 victims with ties to Connecticut who were killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. The State of Connecticut's memorial to the victims is located on a peninsula at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, where people gathered on that day to observe the devastation of the attacks on Lower Manhattan across Long Island Sound. The site was also used in the following days and weeks as a staging area for Connecticut's relief efforts to New York City.
Posted 9/9/2016
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| July 8, 1969 - Swearing In |
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July 8, 1969 - Seven new firefighters were appointed in conjunction with the expansion for the 42-hour work week to be implemented the following year. A total of 40 new firefighters were hired between November 1967 and July 1970.
Pictured L to R: Fire Chief V. Paul Leddy, Commissioner Ted Baroncini, Bob Macauley (inside cab), Greg Shammett and Rick Kenyon (on running board), Bob Viglione and Ralph Tomaselli (up top), Commissioner Irving Saslow, John Reilly, and Doug Yocher. Dep. Chief Training Officer Daniel Hume on rear step. (Photo by Vaccaro)
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65 Years Ago
September 5, 1951 - Firehouse Becomes Schoolhouse
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| July 26, 1951 - The Hamden Chronicle |
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| 1951 - Station 5 was an annex of the neighboring Mt. Carmel School |
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Station 5 4th Graders Surprised During CD Drill
Was It Early Sex-Ed?
Through the years, a few Hamden fire stations have served as temporary school rooms and even places of worship when the need arose. For several weeks in 1944, the Humphrey station became a temporary schoolhouse after a disastrous mid-winter fire at Church Street School. A quarter of a century earlier, religious services were held in the Humphrey station meeting rooms after fire destroyed the Hamden Plains Methodist Church.
By 1951, Hamden's postwar population expansion was felt most heavily in Mt. Carmel, where the school population had exceeded the capacity of the Mt. Carmel School on Woodruff Street. As a result, some classes were held upstairs in Station 5 during the 1951-52 school year.
When school was in session, the paid men and volunteers at Mt. Carmel were relegated to the firehouse basement. And, of course, the basement decor echoed that of the two upstairs bedrooms, which were off-limits to the students.
Bill Farrell, who still lives in Mt. Carmel, was a fourth grader at Station 5 that year. Bill recently recalled when he and his young classmates got an unexpected lesson from Station 5 paid men during an unscheduled civil defense drill.
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As the drill got underway, 4th grade teacher Miss Margaret Fitzgerald carefully shepherded her 10-year old students from the second floor of the firehouse to the safety of the basement. The paid men were unaware of the drill and were definitely not expecting guests.
When Miss Fitzgerald and her kiddies arrived safely in the basement, they got an eyeful: Impressive displays of trophies, banners and other fire company memorabilia lined the walls. But the most memorable display, according to Bill Farrell, were the numerous photos of young ladies in various states of (un)dress. Whoops! (A memo from the Chief followed, no doubt.)
Originally posted 9/9/11
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Miss Margaret Fitzgerald taught fourth grade at Station 5 during the 1951-52 school year (your web editor had her for third grade four years later). Former Station 5 career firefighter, Bill Bossoli, fondly remembered Miss Fitzgerald as a very nice lady. Indeed, she was. A Hamden native, Miss Fitzgerald taught at Mt. Carmel School until 1958, when she joined the faculty of the new Sleeping Giant Junior High School as an Art teacher. She retired in the 1970s.
The Station 5 schoolhouse experiment lasted only the one school year. Starting in 1952, Mt. Carmel School went on double sessions for all grades except 7th and 8th. Normal class times returned in October 1954, when a new addition to the school opened. DGJ
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| 1967 - Asst. Supt. of Alarms Richie Lostritto on the 1940 Case tractor, clearing the Shop parking lot behind Station 2. The following year Richie was promoted to Superintendent, replacing Supt. Clem Wetmore upon his retirement. |
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| Lieutenant Kelo (1984) |
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Lieutenant Robert Edward Kelo
(1939 - 2016)
We deeply regret to announce the passing on August 19, 2016 of retired HFD Lieutenant and HFRA & HGSRA member Robert "Bob" E. Kelo in Chesterfield, Virginia. Bob is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Jacqueline; and his children, Robert Jr. of Fort Myers, Fla., Michael (Susi) and Deborah, both of Chesterfield.
Bob joined the Hamden Fire Department in July 1970. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1984. Among his assignments was co-leader of the department's hazardous materials team. Bob also was a longtime member and past Chief of Citizen's Engine Co. 2 of Seymour before he and his wife Jackie moved to Virginia following his February 1, 1998 retirement.
Those of us who were fortunate to have worked with Bob remember him as a good friend, caring firefighter and a fine officer.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 23, at St. Gabriel's Catholic Church, 8901 Winterpock Rd. Interment Sunset Memorial Park, Chester.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Bon Secour's Hospice, 8580 Magellan Pkwy., Bldg. IV, Richmond, Va. 23227.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob's family at this sad time.
Revised 8/21/16
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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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