Hamden Fire Retirees Association, Inc.

(December 10, 2021)  On this date 125 years ago, Hamden's first organized firefighting force was organized in the Highwood section of town.

 

From Hamden Firefighting (2017, Arcadia Publishing), "It was not until the mid-1890s, after a spate of suspicious fires destroyed barns in southern Hamden, that a group of Highwood residents finally decided that it was time to organize Hamden's fire fire company, Highwood's Pioneer Hose Co. No. 1, on December 10, 1896."

 

In November 1950, Francis "Bud" O'Connor, legendary editor of The Hamden Chronicle, wrote a comprehensive article about the fire company's history at a time when many of the company's 19th century organizers were still alive.  He tells a fascinating story from the organizers themselves.

At left, 870 Dixwell Avenue, the 1896 site of William Dick's barber shop, where the first discussions about forming a fire company in Highwood took place.  At right, the 1896 site on St. Mary Street of Visel's Hall, where the Highwood Volunteer Fire Association was organized on Thursday, December 10, 1896.

At left, the fire company's first quarters were in a temporary building at the corner of Dixwell Avenue and Dudley Street, on the property of J.F. Callahan.  The fire company's hose cart and other equipment were housed there until 1898, when the fire company purchased the New Lebanon Mission, picture at right at 376 Morse Street, and renamed it the Highwood Firemen's Hall.

 

In April 1897, the company investigated the possibility of having a hydrant installed in the area.  On September 18, 1898, a two-way hydrant was installed at the corner of Dixwell Avenue and Alling Street, the site pictured above left showing a modern three-way hydrant.

 

In 1907, Charles Loller was appointed chief of the fire company.  When the Hamden Fire Department was created by state statute in 1925, Loller was appointed as Hamden's first fire chief.

 

In the spring of 1909, the company built its permanent quarters at the southeast corner of Dixwell and Morse, pictured aboive at right, on property purchased in October 1897 from Dr. Winchell.

 

In 1918, immediately following the fire that destroyed the 80-year old Hamden Plains Methodist Church, the Town of Hamden provided the company with a new Stewart chemical truck.

 

The Highwood volunteers built this hand-drawn hook and ladder truck during the winter of 1907-08.  It is pictured here next to the New Lebanon Mission building on Morse Street, the company's quarters from 1898 to 1909.  The truck could be attached to a passing trolley car that was headed in the direction of the emergency.

This murky newspaper photo is the only known image of the inside of the Highwood station.  The engine and ladder truck are parked outside.

 

The photo was taken on October 31, 1950 in connection with the Better Boys' Brigade Halloween parade, as 250 costumed youngsters assembled at the Highwood station to begin their walk up to Shelton Avenue, across to Goodrich Street, then back to Dixwell to Pine Street, where the parade ended at the Margaret L. Keefe School.

In 1950, the National Board of Fire Underwriters recommended the closing of the Highwood station because it was considered too close to the New Haven city line and also because it was only six-tenths of a mile from the Humphrey station.  It also recommended taking Engine 1 out of service.  The Town opted for the first recommendation, but not the second.

When the Highwood station closed on October 1, 1951, Engine 1 and the ladder truck were reassigned to Station 2, where both remained in service along with Engine 2.

 

Engine 1 was taken out of service in 1993, when a reduction in the minimum manpower was put into effect by a new labor agreement.