Before EMTs and Paramedics
The vast majority of fire department emergencies these days are medicals, although there will always be fires and other types of emergencies where only the fire department can be counted upon to save lives and property. There was a time in Hamden and everywhere else when medical calls were few and far between. In 1952, thirty "emergency" or "oxygen" calls were logged for the entire year! Today, that quota can be easily filled in one day by the HFD.
It wasn't until 1971 that the Hamden Fire Department had trained EMTs, and it would be another five years before it had paramedics.
A "save" for any department member is a wonderful experience - truly a reward in itself. During the past 40-plus years, we undoubtedly have had thousands of them. However, in those days before EMTs, a "save" was especially gratifying given the limited training and comparatively primitive equipment available to the fire service at the time. Below are two such examples from the early 1960s, both involving small children and Hamden firefighters who had the knowledge, skills and abilities at the right moment to meet the dire situations.
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