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Awards Ceremony - October 18, 1985 |
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During his tenure, Fire Chief John Tramontano held three ceremonies to honor department members. The 1st Awards Ceremony took place on October 18, 1985, at which time the crew members of Engine 2, Platoon 3 were awarded the department's Medal of Honor.
On February 9, 1985, Engine 2 was first to arrive at a working fire in a three family house at 27 Edwards Street. Alerted by neighbors that a woman was trapped on the third floor, the crew raced up two flights of a rear stairway. Firefighter Carl Backus (extreme right) broke down the door to the third floor apartment, which was well involved. The crew rescued a 23-year old pregnant woman. Three from Engine 2 were injured; one was hospitalized.
Pictured left to right: Lieut. Donald LaBanca, Ff. Jim Moore, Dep. Chief Walter Macdowall, Chief Tramontano, Firefighters Wayne Lowry and Carl Backus.
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Firefighter Alfred Ramelli |
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The final presentation at the 1st Awards Ceremony was a very special one for all department members.
The Department's Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to Firefighter Alfred Ramelli. Firefighter Ramelli was stricken on duty Christmas Eve 1971 and died January 1, 1972.
Chief Tramontano presented the award to Firefighter Ramelli's son, Firefighter Raymond Ramelli.
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French-Italian Fire - January 24, 1985 |
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CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS |
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25 Years Ago
French-Italian Fire 1206-1216 Dixwell Avenue Thursday, January 24, 1985
CLICK on the photo at LEFT to view a new webpage devoted to the fire twenty-five years ago at the "French-Italian" Building. CLICK on the photo at RIGHT to view three local newscasts and Pete Thomas' video of the fire on YouTube.
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CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO |
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Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and . . . |
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April 1988 - Mark "Batman" Barletta (Photo by Dave Johnson) |
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Through the years the Hamden Fire Department has been blessed with a few individuals who have genuine expertise in certain areas that some people find difficult to deal with. Starting in the late 1980s, Mark "Batman" Barletta was the head of the department's official "Bat Relocation Team," which was often called upon to intervene in situations involving the flying rodents that many folks associate with bites, rabies and Bela Lugosi.
Some of us remember when we dealt with bats using a prolonged frigid spray from a CO2 extinguisher. Mark had the knowledge and experience to know how to properly rid a residence of these creatures without hurting them.
Mark went on to become Deputy Fire Marshal and then Fire Marshal. He is now the Chairman of the Hamden Fire Retirees' Association.
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Old Station 3 dayroom - 1969 - Sid Trower, Lt. Joe McDermott and Ray Bantz (Photo by Ed Doiron) |
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Dick Stacey in the foreground and Carmen Amarante in the background rolling hose at Station 2 with two unidentified firefighters in the mid-1960s (Photo by Stan Brown, courtesy of Chan Brainard) |
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(Photo courtesy of John O'Hare) |
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This late-1950s photo shows the trophy presentation following a benefit softball game between Hamden's fire and police departments. Left to right: John O'Hare and B/C Everett Doherty from the fire department, and Dan Liston, Chief Bob Thatcher and Jack Sarracco from the police department.
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You will always see lots of firefighters and fire apparatus in a parade. A new "Parades" webpage has been added for the new parade photos that are coming in all the time.
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CLICK to view video |
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| Rick Kenyon sent us the link to this YouTube video demonstrating a new method of CPR for certain types of situations. We are posting this for your information.
Mayo Clinic Presentation of Continuous Chest Compression CPR - Cardiocerebral Resuscitation Cardiocerebral resuscitation (CCR) is a new approach to patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest that has been shown to improve rates of neurologically intact survival by 250%--300% over the approach advocated by the 2000 American Heart Association guidelines. And EMS systems can realize these improvements without having to buy a single new gadget or device.
CLICK on the photo to view the video.
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82 members signed up as of 1/12/10
January 12, 2010: The largest turn out of retirees so far attended the luncheon at the Hamden Elk's Hall on Tuesday, January 12th. Minutes of the meeting will be posted on the website in the next day or two.
NEXT MEETING will be a BRUNCH
Wednesday, April 21st at 11 AM, at the Hamden Elks Club, 175 School Street.
Details will be posted later and postcard reminders will be sent to everyone.
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It's that time of year . . . |
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December 31, 2000 - On the very last day of the 20th Century, Firefighter Paul Turner digs out. We might be doing this again nine years later, too. (Photo by Bob Mordecai) |
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CLICK on the photo to read a Meriden Record-Journal article about Doug Yocher's 50+ years in the fire service. |
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CLICK on the photo to read about Hamden's Civil Defense Fire Auxiliary. |
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CLICK on the photo to read about Chief Raymond C. Spencer |
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Butterworth's Giant Valley Farm - August 7, 1940 |
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Mt. Carmel's 1930 Maxim 600 GPM at Butterworth's Farm in August 1940. (Photo courtesy of G. Donald Steele) |
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Butterworth's Giant Valley Farm, on Tuttle Avenue about a mile in from Whitney Avenue, has been the scene of three major fires: in August 1940, February 1955, and August 1998. A review of all three fires, including photos, news articles and TV news videos, is in the works.
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Ladder Training - June 1982 Photos by John Tramontano
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Bill Mulcahy |
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Sam Jones |
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CLICK on the Maltese cross at the left to view the memorial tribute to our friends and colleagues, all past career members of the Hamden Fire Department.
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CLICK here to visit the official website of the Hamden Professional Firefighters, Local 2687, I.A.F.F. |
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This website is open to all visitors, except for the "Secure Pages," which are available to retirees only.
When you click on the "Secure Pages" page, you will be prompted to enter a user name and password. On the "User Name" line, type the name of the current month in all lower case letters.
The PASSWORD for "Secure Pages" is on the back page of the minutes that were mailed to all retirees on June 13th.
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Corrections and contributions to the website are welcome. Scanned photos can be either in JPG or GIF format. Please email Dave Johnson at HFDBadge102@aol.com
Your original photos are welcome, too. Just send them to: Hamden Fire Retirees P.O. Box 185605 Hamden, CT 06518-0605
They will be scanned and mailed back within 24 hours of receipt.
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All photos on this website not otherwise in the Public Domain, as well as all commentary, are © Copyright 2009-10 by the Hamden Fire Retirees' Assn.
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