In the early afternoon of Tuesday, September 22, 2009, I received a phone call from my old friend Gil Spencer. "If you want to get some pictures of Station 4 before it closes, you'd better hurry up. They'll be outta there by four this afternoon."
Within a few minutes, my wife Barb and I were across from the 85-year old Centerville fire station snapping photos. Rescue 1 had already moved to Station 5. Lt. Dave Proulx and his crew were preparing Squad 1 for the move to Station 3. While waiting for traffic to clear, so I could get a good shot of the front of the station, Dave came outside and waved us across. "Hey, Cap," he called, "C'mon inside and get a few more!"
Thanks to Lt. Proulx and Firefighters Ed Hilbert and Craig Smart, I took one last tour through a place that had been a home away from home for scores, perhaps hundreds, of other Hamden firefighters and me since 1924.
Station 4 has undergone many changes through the years, most of them just minor cosmetic tweaks to its ancient decor. I remember when, as kids, Jim Mathis and I hung around Station 4 - Wilbur Baker would kick us out - and we watched the window being installed between the alarm room and the apparatus floor. Most of us retirees remember the creative paneling job done to the upstairs in the early 80s by the two PW craftsmen whom we affectionately dubbed "Cheech and Chong." And many department members still on the job today remember when the kitchen was moved from one end of the basement to the other. However, nothing, not even the 1939-40 relocation of the bay doors, compares with the changes to Station 4 that occurred during the last 1,000 days.
The classic spiral staircase is gone, replaced by a conventional stairway. A new brass pole, with proper safety guard upstairs, has replaced the original brass pole that was installed when the building was new.
The offices, kitchen and living spaces now are all together on the second floor. No more traipsing down two flights of stairs (and up again) to get a cup of coffee. Yes, that fine K-Mart carpeting and those exquisite eighth-inch paneled walls, courtesy of Grossman's (or was it Rickel?), will be missed. But the loss of such historic detailing was definitely worth it.
The officers' and firefighters' quarters - floors, walls and ceiling - are bright, comfortable and clean. Everyone has his or her own locker. A modern kitchen facility now occupies the same space where several bunks once stood. A brand new washer and dryer are located in one of the several bathroom-shower areas. All of these facilities are only a few steps away from the day room.
For the first time since 1974, the fire chief's office is once again on the second floor of the building, adjacent to the living quarters. Instead of the "phone booth" that Chiefs Spencer and Leddy had to share with the Marshal and their secretary, Mrs. Flagge, Chief Berardesca, Deputy Chief Surprise and both secretaries now have their own spacious office areas.
With this renovation, it would appear that the fire department's occupancy on the second floor of the old town hall has expanded at least three-fold. The project took about a year longer than anticipated, but the results are nice. (Now, town fathers and mothers, when do we get a new HQ?)
We wish our active HFD brothers and sisters a safe and healthy future in their new quarters. (Dave J.)
Check out the photos below.
Posted 6/22/12
