HVFCo. April Report

Members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. responded to 35 calls for emergency services in April:

Medical Emergencies – 19
Fires, Alarms, etc. – 12
Motor Vehicle Crashes – 2
Other (wires down, etc.) – 2

A fire near 1292 Saybrook Road in Haddam was sparked April 1 when a fallen tree branch snapped a utility line in half. Both ends of the wires fell and arced to the ground for about 20 minutes with the heat potential of about 2,000 degrees. The area was so hot, water boiled on the surface. Using New York hooks to penetrate the ground, firefighters removed three rocky masses called fulgurites, formed by fusion when lightning, or in this case, electricity, strikes sand.

On April 10, a caller on Arkay Drive reported inside smoke conditions that, upon further inspection, resulted from a frayed extension cord in the garage.

As outdoor activities increase, so do brush fires. Four were reported in April: One the result of a snapped utility pole, another from a small campfire set by an angler fishing the Connecticut River, and two controlled backyard burns that residents could not contain. In one instance, a garage was minimally charred and a boat and car were burned.

Coinciding with our current red flag fire season, members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Company Junior Division, their advisors and other firefighters “brushed up” on their wildland firefighting skills at The University of Connecticut’s Middlesex County Extension Center on Saybrook Road. An approximately one-half acre field was burned during the annual land management controlled burn event.

The Fire Company and its Auxiliary would like to thank the more than 275 residents who turned out April 25 for a fundraising dinner benefiting Tom Carlson, a former Haddam firefighter who lost his home in a fire. Thanks also local businesses The Red Barn, HiWay Package, Teri’s Package, Higganum Wine and Spirits, Hairpinz and Tony’s Package store for selling tickets for the event, and CT Rental Center, Matty’s Next Door Sports Bar and Dustin Bondi at ABCO The Paper Man for all your generous contributions.

April drills included Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) training, which allows a back-up team to extricate downed firefighters in distress.

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.