Date: Fri 02-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Hawleyville-fire-dept

Full Text:

Firefighters' Drill Helps Raise The Roof

(with photos)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The planned removal and replacement of the Hawleyville Firehouse roof allowed

Hawleyville and Dodgingtown firemen some practice this week in firefighting

techniques.

The firemen methodically used chain saws, axes and hooks Tuesday evening to

puncture the roof with several large holes such as those made to ventilate

burning buildings.

Hawleyville Fire Chief Joe Farrell supervised as the firefighters climbed

ladders to the roof and cut holes into it. As night approached, Hawleyville

firemen used an emergency lighting mast positioned atop Engine 331 to

illuminate the roof.

In recent weeks, firemen have been making some changes at the fire station in

preparation for a modernization and expansion project which will increase the

building's size from roughly 5,000 to approximately 6,000 square feet.

That size increase will allow Hawleyville firefighters to replace the

20-year-old, town-owned Engine 331 with a new, bigger pumper. The current

Engine 331 carries 750 gallons of water and pumps 1,000 gallons of water per

minute, Chief Farrell said. The new truck, which the fire company hopes to

receive by the end of the year, will carry 1,000 gallons of water and pump

1,500 gallons per minute.

Hawleyville now has four fire trucks. The firehouse expansion project will

provide room for a potential fifth fire truck.

Chief Farrell notes that Hawleyville firefighters responded to more than 170

fire calls in the fiscal year which ended Wednesday June 30, compared to 129

calls in the preceding fiscal year. The increased number of calls stems, in

part, from more responses to accidents on Interstate-84, plus joint responses

to medical calls with the ambulance service.

Chief Farrell said Hawleyville is a growing area, noting the 298-unit

Homesteads at Newtown planned for 166 Mt Pleasant Road, as well as the

304-unit Avalon at Newtown rental apartment complex proposed for a site next

to it.

While the Hawleyville firehouse roof is being replaced, fire vehicles normally

kept there will be stored elsewhere. One will be garaged at the Sandy Hook

firehouse on Riverside Road. Another will be kept on private property in

Hawleyville. The trucks are expected to return to the Hawleyville firehouse

during the first half of August.

Peter Wilson, a member of the Hawleyville fire company, is managing the

modernization project, which is expected to cost more than $200,000. The

project will be paid for with funds privately raised by the department, plus a

loan, Chief Farrell said.

Besides improving the firehouse interior and expanding it, the project will

provide new electrical, heating and cooling systems for the building.

Fire company treasurer Bill O'Keefe explained that Hawleyville firefighters

have worked to keep up with changing times, noting that the addition to the

firehouse will be the third expansion project there in the past 30 years.