Sandy Hook Chief: Halstead Reflects On 50 Years Of Firefighting
Volunteer firefighting is not a simple task. During all types of weather and at any time of day or night, an emergency call may sound, summoning firefighters from wherever they may be, and whatever they may be doing to respond to the scene of an emergency.
For the past half century in Newtown, Bill Halstead has been among those who showed up to help.
Often, the calls turn out to be routine. But sometimes the circumstances are dire, involving the loss of life, serious injury, or extensive property damage. Paid firefighters, who generally are based in cities and large towns, are stationed in firehouses from which they respond to calls. But in smaller towns, such as Newtown, those firefighters are volunteers, who are scattered across town, and who are unpaid for their work.
A basic motivation that keeps a volunteer fire company cohesive and well-functioning, plus provides it with a sense of continuity, is the company members’ desire to help residents in times of need, explained Mr Halstead, who is chief of Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company. On January 18, he marked his 50th anniversary as a Sandy Hook firefighter.
Chief Halstead said that as soon as he was eligible, on January 18, 1965 — the day he turned 16 — he volunteered as a Sandy Hook firefighter.
He has been fighting fires and responding to emergencies ever since in Sandy Hook, in adjacent fire districts within Newtown, and on mutual aid calls out of town.
Sandy Hook is one of five local volunteer fire companies. The others are Newtown Hook & Ladder, Botsford, Hawleyville, and Dodgingtown. Each company has a fire chief.
Although there are five fire districts, Sandy Hook covers roughly one-half the land area of Newtown. Sandy Hook has two firehouses — a main station on Riverside Road and a substation at 249 Berkshire Road.
Besides overseeing the Sandy Hook fire company, Chief Halstead also serves as the town fire marshal and as its director of emergency management. When Fairfield Hills was in operation as a state psychiatric hospital, he served as the hospital’s fire chief.
Strict But Fair
Asked to describe his management style, Chief Halstead, who became fire chief in 1978, said, “I consider myself a good leader, but I’m also a tough leader.”
People in the organization need to perform to more than minimum standards, he said.
“I try to be fair, but I am very tough,” he said.
“Strict but fair” is a way to describe it, he said.
Good training is essential for a fire company, he added.
What keeps people in the organization is the sense of satisfaction that they derive from helping people in need, Chief Halstead said. The teamwork required fosters a sense of camaraderie that creates a social bond, he said.
Beyond the cohesiveness within a fire company, the five local fire companies in town support each other on emergency calls, he said, adding ,“All companies support each other very well.”
The five companies operate in a quasi-public sphere, with each unit using a combination of its own equipment and town-owned equipment.
Each unit conducts private fundraising drives to cover costs and also is subsidized with town funds.
The Board of Fire Commissioners has members from all five fire companies who oversee the public financial aspects of local fire protection.
A Depth Of Concern
Chief Halstead is well known in firefighting circles in the region and state, having received many honors over the years for his service. Some local officials described his service in Newtown.
First Selectman Pat Llodra said, “Bill Halstead’s record of service to the Newtown community is one of extraordinary longevity and commitment.”
“He has served us well from his earliest days as a junior firefighter to his current and longstanding role as Sandy Hook chief and town fire marshal. His knowledge of our community is unparalleled, as is the depth of his concern for our safety and well-being,” Mrs Llodra said.
“Bill is a rare treasure among those many, many kindred folk who serve in our all-volunteer fire service. There are no words sufficient to thank Bill for his dedication, but we all know that Bill doesn’t seek recognition or accolades. He only seeks to serve at the highest and best levels, and that he does every day,” the first selectman said.
Police Chief Michael Kehoe said of Chief Halstead, “I commend him on his longevity in a very tough profession. He’s a consummate professional, always willing to go the extra mile, not only to help the police, but [to help] the citizens of Sandy Hook and the town,” Chief Kehoe said.
“He has offered professional fire services [to the town] at the highest levels,” the police chief added.
Chief Kehoe noted that Chief Halstead, in his role as the town’s emergency management director, was instrumental in creating the town’s emergency operations center located at Fairfield Hills. That communications/conferencing hub proved a very valuable facility during times of emergency, such as severe storms and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Chief Kehoe said.
Chief Halstead and Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia were married in August 2013.
Ms Halstead said this week, “In 2008, I dedicated Newtown’s annual report to all our volunteer rescue agencies. Bill drove me around to all the fire departments, talking about their history, and then, at each fire department, he asked for a truck to be brought [outside], so I could take pictures.”
“By the end of our travels, I could tell how much he cared about our entire town ... and that’s when I started to have a crush on him,” she said.
“I’m very grateful for all his years as a volunteer firefighter for Sandy Hook and proud of his support and dedication to his department,” Ms Halstead said.
The Firefighting Fraternity
Chief Halstead explained that his early induction into the firefighting fraternity was a natural turn of events, in that many of his family members had been volunteer firefighters. His father, bothers, uncles, and cousins had all served as volunteer firefighters in Sandy Hook, he said.
When he joined the organization, Hiram Hanlon was the fire chief, and the firehouse was located at 6 Glen Road in Sandy Hook Center.
Over the years, the fire company has grown. The current roster lists 74 total members, of whom 57 are considered active members, with ten support members, four members in military service, and three junior corps members.
Sandy Hook has a core group of about 30 firefighters who frequently respond to emergency calls, Chief Halstead said
Today, the fire company has nine firefighting vehicles. When Chief Halstead joined the company in 1965, it had one vehicle.
Sandy Hook has changed markedly over the decades. When Chief Halstead joined the unit, Sandy Hook held many farm fields. Today, there are many single-family houses located in those formerly agricultural areas.
The fire company responds to between 450 and 500 emergency calls in a given year, including various types of fires, auto accidents, vehicle extrications, fluid spills, and medical emergencies, among others.
There are nearly 4,000 buildings in the Sandy Hook fire district, the large majority of which are single-family houses.
During the past 50 years, the area’s population has grown significantly. Due to modern construction, it seems that fires burn faster today than they did in the past, Chief Halstead said.
To meet the demands of modern firefighting, volunteer recruits must receive 140 hours of practical/classroom training before receiving their “Firefighter I” certification, he said.
What keeps firefighters serving as firefighters is the sense of accomplishment that they experience when they save a building during a fire, extricate a person who is trapped in a vehicle which was damaged in a collision, or aid someone in a medically dire situation, Chief Halstead said.
“You really know it’s … worth what you do” in such cases, he said.
Helping the public is satisfying, he said. “The motivation is to help people in the town,” he added.
Chief Halstead stressed that it takes teamwork to make an organization operate well, explaining that he has always had good fire officers, a management team of eight people who help run the unit.
Chief Halstead, who is a golfer, is a fan of all types of auto racing. When the weather is good, he enjoys driving his sleek, bright red 1987 Chevrolet Corvette sports car.