The Firehouse Family: Three Generations of Valleras

Note: This is the first in a series about firefighting families in Haddam.


Kyle, Donnie and Mike were like any other little kids – horsing around in the backyard, digging in the sandbox, pretending to be firemen.

The Vallera boys enjoyed a typical childhood, with one exception: They lived above the firehouse.

“It’s all we knew. I guess firefighters were kind of our entertainment,” said Kyle, third generation member of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co.

From 1979 to 1987, Kyle’s parents Ken and Debbie were dispatchers living above the town’s original firehouse on Candlewood Hill Road. The building, which today houses the Haddam Veteran’s Museum, was built in 1930, a year after the Haddam Town Hall burned down.

Haddam was still in the shadow of the now-decommissioned Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Reactor across the river – back when the Fire Company held nuclear drills and some of its trucks were still red. It also was well before 9-1-1 was established. All of Middlesex County shared one frequency and Haddam residents would dial a 7-digit number that rang directly to the firehouse. By the 1970s, the town was using a pager system, but prior to that, a siren above the firehouse would signal firefighters to respond.

“It was a smaller town back then,” Ken said. “But the fire department has always been the backbone of this community.”

When the tones went out – like magic – the Vallera boys’ home would spring to life with sirens, lights and fire trucks screaming off into the distance. Talk about every little boy’s fantasy.

“It was always fun to watch,” Mike said. 

When people say firefighting runs in your blood, they could easily be talking about the Vallera family.

Kyle’s grandfather Lorenzo “Renzy,” 84, joined the department in 1952. At the time, many of his friends were joining and “I was always interested in it,” he said. Lorenzo went on to become Chief from 1956 to 1959. He spent 18 years as Fire Marshall and accepted life membership in 1961, but remained an active member long after. He later served on the town’s Board of Selectmen.

Kyle’s dad Ken, 54, joined in 1977 and served for more than two decades. He accepted life membership in 2000.

Mike, 35, is the oldest of three boys. He joined Haddam Fire in 1995 and served until 2002. Today he volunteers for the Westbrook Fire Department, where he’s a Lieutenant and his wife Heather is Company Treasurer. Mike’s 4-year-old son Nathan may represent the fourth generation of Vallera firefighters.

Donnie, 33, is the next oldest. He was with department for three years (two as a Junior) before being moved out of town in 1998. Today, he’s stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, serving the U.S. Army as an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operator.

As you might expect, Kyle, 23, also was a Junior, earning the rank of Firefighter in 2012. Having a family legacy in the department gave Kyle an advantage in some ways, but in other ways, it was a disadvantage. So much was expected of him, he was pushed a little harder.

“There were special rules for me,” he said. “Things that other Juniors weren’t asked to do, all the guys expected me to do.”

The boys’ father said that often, he had no other choice but to take them along on calls. “I’d just put them in the car and go,” Ken said. “That’s how it was back then.”

If they were really lucky, they’d get to ride in one of the Engines.

“The doghouse in (Engine) 6-13 used to be my babysitter,” Kyle remembers. A “doghouse” is the large frame over an engine in the cab of a fire truck. “I’d just sit there and wait until my dad was all done, talking to the driver.”

Fire departments also function as a big extended family, so the boys always had people to watch them. Kyle said a few of the wives – Teresa Kuchyt (also a member), Michele Ouellette and Michelle Gamache in particular – would watch the boys while dad was away. But, Mike said, having those extra set of eyes on them wasn’t always a good thing.

“We couldn’t get away with anything,” he said, “not that we didn’t try.”

Despite the pranks and clowning around that come with the territory when your territory is a firehouse, Lorenzo is very proud of how his son and grandsons turned out. He credits the tight-knit community they grew up around. "They turned out good,” Lorenzo said.

Mike is definitely in the Fire Service for all the right reasons.

“Being a firefighter is a great challenge. It’s something that not many people want to do or try to do,” he said. “Its challenges are great, and even though the rewards are minor, knowing that you gave your all to help a person or family is a great reward at the end of the day. Whether it’s a simple basement pump-out or a structure fire, in the end it’s a good feeling.”

As for “turning out good,” I can vouch for Kyle. 

Every fire department has cliques – groups united, or divided, by things like years of service (“old timers’’ vs. “newcomers”) and social skills (“go it alone” vs. “always at the firehouse”). But I can honestly say that in the short time I’ve been with the Fire Company, Kyle has never made me feel like an outsider. That says a lot about him, because just about the only thing we have in common is a similar in-seam; I’ve worn his old gear for more than a year.

Other than that, we couldn’t be more different. He’s young; I’m not. He drives a GMC Sierra pickup truck with 360-horsepower and a 6.0-liter Vortec V8 engine; I drive a Pontiac Vibe and have no idea what any of that means. Kyle’s in his element under the hood of his truck; I’m in my element adding windshield washer fluid.

Kyle also spent his entire life around firefighters – helping make the Memorial Day chowder, getting kicked out of the kitchen by member Steven Ouellette, and learning the ins, outs and unders of all the fire trucks. The closest I’d ever been to a firehouse was watching “Backdraft” on the big screen.

The Vallera family’s firefighting roots don’t just end with Kyle. Haddam Firefighter Nick Stekl is Kyle’s cousin and his aunt, Candy Veazie, is a member of the Auxiliary. The family also is tied to the Parmelee family, with its own history with the Fire Company.

I guess you could say Valleras and the Fire Service go together like a hose and a hydrant.

“A hydrant – What’s that?” Kyle said. “You know, those things they have in big cities,” Mike said. “You guys should really look at getting some. They come in real handy.”

Boys will be boys.



Do You Have What It Takes? Find more information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and ways you can get involved at our website www.HaddamFire.com, or find us on Facebook.