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Health & Fitness

Storm Standby with Haddam Fire

As expected during Hurricane Sandy, the HVFC received numerous calls for downed trees resting on or knocking down power lines.

Members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Company started manning its three fire stations early on Monday, with all available members asked to be at their respective stations at 2 p.m. 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 not occupied at the time.

Firefighters secured scenes to keep motorists away from wires and awaited crews from Connecticut Light & Power and the tree cutting company Asplundh to begin clean-up and power restoration. In preparation for Hurricane Sandy, the utility company spread crews around the state so they would be available on a town-by-town basis.

CL&P Senior Vice President William Quinlan said more than 600,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm, but added that they were able to restore electricity to 135,000 of them by Tuesday morning. CL&P estimated that as of noon today, 2,100 Haddam households were still in the dark, affecting about 53 percent of residents.

Find out what's happening in The Haddams-Killingworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Continuous runs were briefly halted at around 8 p.m. when sustained winds started to exceed 50mph with gusts over 70mph. The fire company maintains an exceptional level of service during natural disasters, however, responding at the height of a major storm puts firefighters at unnecessary risk. Tropical storm force winds can topple high-profile emergency vehicles and flying debris can injure emergency responders. According to the Hartford Courant, a firefighter was killed in Easton, Conn. during the storm when a large tree fell on a fire engine.

As power restoration efforts continued through the night, the fire company consolidated crews, with more members reconvening Tuesday morning.

Find out what's happening in The Haddams-Killingworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Haddam Fire would like to commend the efforts of the utility crews and thank residents for preparing for this storm and staying safe at home and off the roads.

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 find us on Facebook.

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