HVFCo. June Report

Members of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. responded to 43 calls for emergency services in June:

Medical Emergencies – 21
Fires, Alarms, etc. – 4
Motor Vehicle Accidents – 3
Other (wires down, etc.) – 15

Southern Connecticut was especially hard hit by a storm on June 23. High winds cause more than 2,400 Haddam area residents to lose power. Durham was hit even harder, with 3,081 of 3,093 customers in the dark. It was a long night for Haddam firefighters on traffic duty, with several local roads impassable.

Other notable calls included a leak from 500-pound propane tank at a gas station on Route 81.

Elections
Fire company elections were recently held. For this two-year cycle, line officers are: Chief Sam Baber, First Assistant Chief Zachary Tiezzi, Second Assistant Chief Gene Melanson, Captains Peter Brown and Richard Zanelli, and Lieutenants Scott Kuchyt, John Kuzminski, Jed Morrissey and Kyle Vallera. Further appointments are at the discretion of the Chief.

Other elected positions include Building Engineer Malcolm Meyer, Mechanical Engineer Kyle Vallera, Radio Engineer Scott Larson, Quartermaster Mike Mancuso, Secretary Tony Lafo, Records Administrator Tony Lafo, Treasurer Doug Pierce, Chaplain Jay Cooke, Representative to the Haddam Volunteer Fire Department Dan Casey and HVFCo. Board of Directors John Boothroyd, Teresa Kuchyt, Scott Larson and Rich Williams.

Donations and Drills
Other June activities included a Hurst tool donation to a fire company in New Hampshire and several intensive drills.

On June 14, the HVFCo., with support from the Town of Haddam, donated used Hurst vehicle extrication tools to a small volunteer fire company in rural New Hampshire. Haddam firefighters provided hands-on training to eight members of the Acworth Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company.

On June 8 and 9, members participated in two medical and search-and-rescue drills on the Connecticut River. On June 8, firefighters and EMTs aboard Marine-13 worked to rescue a victim with a head injury. On June 9, Haddam and East Haddam Fire Department crews worked together on a search-and-rescue scenario near Chapman’s Pond in East Haddam. Other drills included a mock two-car collision at Station 3 and Junior members practicing techniques to protect building exposures while wearing Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) during a truck qualification drill at the Haddam Jail property.

Awards and Recognition
Nine members of Haddam Fire’s Junior program received a Certificate of Excellence from Regional School District 17. Current Junior members include EJ Adametz, Wyatt Bates, Derek Brutzman, Cahil Cronin, Charlie Kowal, Adam Massicott, Kaleb Mislick, Leif Munzner and Zack Ouellette.

Lastly, Firefighter Ron Annino received his 45 Years of Service pin and Firefighter John Boothroyd received his 35 Years of Service pin. Thank you both for dedicating so many years of service to your community.

Do You Have What It Takes? More information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Company and ways you can get involved can be found on our website www.HaddamFire.com, or look for us on Facebook.