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Health & Fitness

HVFC October Activity

Members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Company responded to 60 calls for emergency services in October.

Members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Company responded to 60 calls for emergency services in October. Here’s the breakdown of calls:

Medical Emergencies - 28                       

Fires, alarms etc. - 12

Motor Vehicle Crashes - 1
Marine - 1
Other - 18                         


The big news in October was a flurry of hurricane-related activity. Of the 60 calls, 25 were during or shortly after the storm.

As Hurricane Sandy approached, members of the Fire Company inventoried resources, re-stocked supplies and made plans to provide coverage throughout town. Officers stayed in close contact with other town and state agencies to handle any emergency that could quickly become complex in storm conditions.

Members started manning all three fire stations early on Oct. 29 as Sandy made landfall on the New Jersey coast. The command center at Station 1 dispatched crews as the storm intensified.

As expected, the Fire Company received numerous calls for downed trees resting on or knocking down power lines. At one incident in the town center, a large tree blew over at the Village Plaza on Route 81, taking out a power line and falling on a parked truck. The vehicle was unoccupied at the time.

Firefighters secured scenes to keep motorists away from wires and awaited crews from Connecticut Light & Power and tree cutting companies for clean-up and power restoration. In preparation for Sandy, the utility company spread crews around the state to increase their availability on a town-by-town basis.

Continuous runs were briefly halted when sustained winds exceeded 50 mph with gusts over 70 mph. Responding at the height of a major storm puts firefighters at excessive risk. Tropical storm force winds can topple high-profile emergency vehicles, while flying debris and falling trees can injure emergency responders. That was the case with Lt. Russell Neary, a firefighter in Easton, Conn. who was killed during the storm by a large tree.

As power restoration efforts continued through the night, the Fire Company consolidated crews, with members reconvening the next morning to assist in clean-up and traffic control for CL&P.

Calls earlier in the month included a resident suffering leg fractures when the vehicle he was checking the under-carriage of rolled after he forgot to set the parking brake. The Fire Company sent a tanker on a mutual aid call to Moodus that involved a fire in a newly constructed house. The fire is being investigated as arson, and a $2,500 reward is offered for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. Marine-13 responded to reports of a flare sighting on the Connecticut River, where they found a boat in distress. Members assisted in repairs and the boat continued on. Also in October, members responded to a person who had fallen and was tangled in a large tree. HVFC personnel cut away part of the tree to free him, packaged him and carried him out of the woods in the dark of night.

Members of the Fire Company conducted a realistic search-and-rescue scenario at a smoked-out Tylerville garage. Haddam-Killingworth High School students Chet Crocco and John Abbott are producing a documentary on the fire company.

The HVFC welcomed one new member, Joe Tomasso, who served as a Junior and is currently enrolled in the Firefighter 1 course. FF1, which is being hosted at Station No. 1, is completing the fire portion of the class. A live burn at Windsor Locks and the Haz-Mat part of the course are coming up.

Drills included two back-to-back extrication drills at Station No. 3 that covered everything from basic cribbing, rescue jacks and air bags to disassembling vehicles with hydraulic tools. EMR- and EMT-certified members trained on patient assessment and use of Epi-Pens while the rest of the company prepared apparatus for the storm.

More information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and ways you can get involved can be found on our website www.HaddamFire.com, or look for us on Facebook.

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