JUNE 22nd-Essex-Firefighters Start the season with a big win... BEST OVERALL. JULY 1st- Mamaroneck - 2nd Best Out of State in Regulation Uniform and Best Out of State Hook and Ladder July 11 Mt. Kisco meet at 18:00 Aug 6 South Salem Sept 27 Pound Ridge 75 anniversary

New Canaan firefighters marched in the Essex Fire Company 175th Anniversary Parade. Essex, Connecticut is home to the second oldest Volunteer Fire Company in the state. (www.essexctfire.com) New Canaan walked away with Best Overall. This is traditionally the best trophy a company can win at a parade. The Essex Parade was judged by the Connecticut Parade Judges Association.

New Canaan Fire Co. would like to congratulate all the Career Firefighters sworn in. Mike Baker, Mike Vitti, Tony Ryan and Donny Gesualdi received promotions to Lieutenant. Mike Sasser was sworn in as a Firefighter. This is the first time in New Canaan Fire Dept. history that there has been Career Lieutenants.

At 02:15, Firefighters were dispatched to an MVA at the intersection of Old Stamford and Farm Roads. Crews arrived to find one patient with minor injuries and a moderate fluid spill. Firefighters applied speedy dry to the fluids and mitigated all other hazards. All units cleared the scene within a half hour. Acting Captain Gaeta had command.

At 19:00, a line of severe storms moved across New Canaan, with heavy rain and a good amount of cloud-to-ground lightning. During this time firefighters responded to 30 Butler Lane for a house hit by lightning with smoke in the house. Firefighters arrived on scene of a large, 3-story wood structure with nothing evident. As crews entered the structure they encountered a moderate smoke condition. Firefighters split up and started a search for the source of the smoke. About 10 minutes into the search, fire was located in the ceiling of the finished basement. A working fire was declared and a line was quickly brought in. Using hooks, firefighters removed the sheet rock from the ceiling to expose the fire. The Engine crew quickly extinguished the fire and the under control was given. New Canaan's Bravest responded to three other calls for service during this time. Captain Socci had Butler Lane command. Units on scene: Cars 1 and 2, FM1, NCVAC, Engine 1, Engine 2, Ladder 3, Tanker 8, and Rescue 5.

On 05/26/08, Firefighters gathered to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service of their Country. At 9:00, the parade began and made its way through the downtown area. At the end of the parade, Firefighters, Police, EMS, and Military personal all gathered for a ceremony at the Lakeview Cemetery. This was followed by a BBQ at the firehouse. Thanks to all those who marched and helped out with the festivities.

The first heat wave of 2008 brought with it 4 days of hazy, hot and humid conditions, with temperatures reaching close to 100 degrees each day. On the last day of the heat wave, at 16:30, E4 was dispatched to its third transformer fire of the day at the intersection of Rt. 123 and Carter Street. At the same time, power was lost to the firehouse and some 8000 residents of New Canaan. With CL&P predicting power not to be restored until sometime around 20:30 and temps still in the upper 90's, town officials decided to activate the emergency operations center. During this time, cooling centers were opened around the town and firefighters were kept busy with numerous alarms and welfare checks. At 20:45, power was restored to most of the town, however at, 21:00 a line of severe storms made its way across the region and knocked out power to most of the town again. The storms brought with them heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning. Firefighters responded to numerous calls including trees and power lines down, trees on houses, activated alarms, and a few smoke scares. From 21:00 that night to 13:00 the next day, New Canaan's Bravest responded to 35 calls for service. No serious injuries were reported and a good job was done by all.

At 22:30, Fire And EMS units were sent to the intersection of Ponus Ridge and Frogtown Roads for an MVA with injuries. Units arrived to find one car on it's roof and a utility pole split in two. Firefighters could see at least one person still in the car and also had a report of one person possibly ejected. Due to the power lines being down, firefighters were unable to get close to the vehicle and were forced to wait for CL&P to shut down the power. Before CL&P arrived, the one occupant in the vehicle was able to self extricate and make it away from the hazard zone to a waiting EMS crew. Once CL&P arrived and confirmed the power was off, a search was started to look for the second victim. After about 20 minutes, command was notified that only one person was in the vehicle at the time of the accident and the search was called off. All Fire units cleared shortly thereafter and the scene was turned over to New Canaan PD. Early the next morning firefighters were called back to stand by while the car was removed from the scene.

The 8th annual fire company golf outing was held on Tuesday, June 17. Net proceeds benefited recruitment and retention of Volunteer Firefighters in New Canaan. 100 players came out for a sunny day of golf at Grassy Hill Golf Club in Orange, CT. The winning score of 62 was won by 2 teams this year. With the overall winner comming in 1 swing less in the back 9.

At 04:11, a full assignment was dispatched for a possible structure fire at 72 Gerdes Road, the State DOT garage. Car 1 arrived on scene and reported that he had a working fire in a 1-story garage facility, with heavy fire showing from 3 bays. Engine 1 arrived on scene and dropped a supply line from the nearest hydrant into the fire scene, where firefighters began fire suppression. Ladder 3 took the front of the building, where the crew went to work cutting the garage doors and gaining better access for the engine companies. Engine 2 arrived on scene and finished the hook up at the hydrant and began pumping water to Engine 1. New Canaan's Bravest, along with mutual aid companies, worked for about an hour to bring the fire under control. A total of 6 State Highway trucks were destroyed and the building suffered severe structural damage. The CT State Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire. Car 1 had Gerdes Road command. Units on scene: NCFD-Engine 1, Engine 2, Engine 4, Ladder 3, Rescue 5, Tanker 8, Cars 1 and 2, FM 1 and 3. NCVAC, NCPD. Mutual aid companies-Noroton Heights Tanker, Turn Of River Tanker, Stamford Engine 7 (RIT), and an Engine from Vista, NY for station coverage.

At 14:03, Fire and EMS Units were sent to the intersection of New Norwalk Road and Old Kings Hwy for the motor vehicle accident with injuries. Companies arrived to find a two car accident with two people complaining of minor injuries. Crews mitigated all hazards and assisted EMS with the patients. CL&P was also called to the scene to inspect a power pole which was struck during the accident. Units remained on scene for about an hour. Capt. Petrone had New Norwalk command. Units on scene: Engine 4, Rescue 5, and Car 3.

Around 19:00 hours a full assignment was dispatched for the basement fire at 45 Betsy's Lane. Crews arrived to find a heavy smoke condition on all levels of the structure. Crews quickly found the source to be a plastic garbage can burning in the basement. With an extinguisher and a garden hose, the homeowner was able to put most of the fire out before our arrival and fire crews finished the job and removed the burnt material from the house. Firefighters then began ventilation of the structure and all units returned to service by 20:30. Car 1 had Betsy's Lane command. Units operating on scene: Cars 1 and 2, Engine 1, Engine 2, Ladder 3, Tanker 8, and Fire Marshals 2 and 3.

 Chief Dave Jonker has been asked to speak in a Chiefs Roundtable event at the Baltimore Fire Expo. The Expo is hosted by Firehouse Magazine (www.firehouse.com) and will be 6 days of education, exhibits and fire industry events. The roundtable will be on Saturday, July 26th at 10:15am and will be discussing a variety of topics that interest volunteer firefighters, officers and chiefs.
Other chiefs in this roundtable include L. Carl Smith, Jr., Chief, Thunderbolt Volunteer FD, GA;  Richard Gasaway, Chief, Roseville, MN FD; and Robert Harvey, Chief, Southern Shores Volunteer FD, Southern Shores, NC.

Many local business joined together to help Baskin Robbins in their national campaign to support local firehouses. 31 cent scoops were joined with 31 cent slices from Joe's pizza, 31 cent lemon-aid from Garelic and Herbs, and free piggy banks with 31 cents in them from the Bank of New Canaan. Engine 9, with New Canaan Firefighters collected $900 in donations that will go to MDA in their fill the boot drive. Baskin Robbins Corporation donated $100,000 to the National Fallen Firefighers Fondation. Firefighters would like to thank everyone for all of their support!

The friends and family of Angelo would like to express their gratitude for all those that attended. We would also like to thank Former Chief Steve Benko for his contribution to this event.Good luck to Angelo in a well deserved retirement.