A longtime resident with approximately 50 years in the fire service died Monday night after being struck by a motor vehicle.

Botsford Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Pete Blomberg, 72, was on his way to the Board of Fire Commissioners annual dinner meeting. He was one of two members representing his company, in addition to its commissioner, heading to the restaurant where this year’s meeting had been planned.

Newtown Police, Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps and a paramedic were all dispatched to Church Hill Road near Dayton Street around 6:15 pm.

Newtown police said Blomberg was hit by a Toyota Tacoma traveling east on Church Hill Road. Blomberg was reportedly crossing from the south to the north side of the road when he was struck. He was transported to Danbury Hospital but did not survive his injuries.

The road was quickly closed to all traffic between its intersections with Walnut Tree Hill Road and Sandy Hook Center. Travelers were detoured around the scene for hours. Newtown Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team, Detective Bureau and Drone Unit all assisted with the investigation.

Newtown Police said Tuesday morning that the driver of the truck remained on the scene and has been cooperative with the investigation. The name of the driver has not been released.

Botsford Fire Rescue issued a brief statement on its Facebook page late Monday night, asking “for your thoughts and prayers and appreciate the outpouring of support thus far. We offer both our sincerest condolences and gratitude to the Blomberg family in this tragic time.”

Newtown Police Department is asking anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Detective Chelsea Harold at 203-426-5841.

Firefighter Procession

As news of Pete Blomberg’s death spread this week, fellow first responders began working with Botsford Fire Rescue members to honor and remember him. Members of other companies have been at the Botsford station all week, and offers to help have been steady, according to BFR Chief Andrew White.

Late Tuesday afternoon, members of all five of the town’s fire companies and Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps assembled on Main Street in front of Honan Funeral Home. With at least 14 fire trucks plus additional emergency response vehicles lined up along the thoroughfare’s eastern shoulder, first responders stood shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the road as a procession arrived.

Newtown Police Department and Connecticut State Police cruisers were escorting the hearse carrying First Assistant Chief Blomberg’s body. Additional vehicles carried family and fire company members, who followed the hearse after it left the State Office of the Medical Examiner in Farmington.

Fire companies and departments between that central Connecticut city and Newtown had their ladder trucks on I-84 overpasses, where large American flags waved as the vehicles passed below them.

When the group reached Newtown, it took Exit 10 to reach Church Hill Road, continued west to Main Street, and then turned onto Main Street. By that time the local first responders were standing at attention, saluting the vehicles as they passed. Newtown Police closed the section of Main Street between the flagpole and Hanover Road/Schoolhouse Hill Road while the procession made its way to the funeral home.

Quite appropriately, as first responders were clearing from that detail Hook & Ladder was dispatched to a possible outside fire. There was something poetic about the sirens sounding and firefighters jumping to action so soon after Blomberg’s body had arrived.

Blomberg’s calling hours are planned for Sunday afternoon. His funeral is scheduled for Monday morning at St Rose of Lima Church.

A Love For The Fire Service

Pete Blomberg lived 67 of his 72 years on earth in Newtown. A native of Bridgeport, “he loved Botsford,” where he’d lived for decades, his daughters said Tuesday.

Blomberg’s service with the town’s fire companies began “about 50 years ago,” according to longtime friend and fellow firefighter Bill McAllister.

“He joined Hawleyville in his younger days. He and a friend rented an apartment in Hawleyville, right next to the firehouse there, so he joined them,” McAllister told The Newtown Bee.

McAllister and Blomberg were friends for four decades, McAllister said this week. Their children were similar ages, and the families spent a lot of time together. For the first part of their academic career, the Blomberg daughters attended St Rose School. At the same time, Blomberg and McAllister were both members of the school’s Grounds Committee.

“It was the old building,” McAllister said this week. “On rainy days the roof would leak through the old skylights and on hot days the kids would be so hot. Pete and I would either be putting buckets down to catch the water or running to the firehouse to get fans to cool everyone down,” he said, laughing. “I can’t tell you how many times we did that.”

It was while raising his daughters that Blomberg also joined Botsford’s fire company.

“He was as active as humanly possible while raising his daughters,” McAllister said. “His size and strength were always an asset on the fireground. Having a background in carpentry, he was always comfortable with ladders too, which was another strength.”

Blomberg joined southern Newtown’s fire company when it was still called United Fire Company of Botsford. The company was renamed Botsford Fire Rescue in 2008; Blomberg was well on his way up the line of command by then. He served as an engineer before being elected Second Assistant Chief and then First Assistant Chief.

Botsford Fire Chief Andrew White said Blomberg was a dependable person and a good leader.

“He was always there,” White said. “He took his job very, very seriously.

“He balanced things very well,” the fire chief added. “He had a few years on some of us and he had a different perspective on things, so it worked well together.”

Blomberg not only loved the fire service, he also loved learning about it.

“He always pursued fire education,” according to his friend McAllister. “We sent him to a national extrication class in Ohio one year. He loved it so much he went a second time. He took time off from work to go out there, three or four days each time, and came back with more knowledge to share.”

Blomberg eventually became a certified State Fire Instructor, leading regional Firefighter 1 and 2 classes. He also served as a certified Station Evaluator at numerous regional evaluation sites.

Through all that, he continued to be a top responder to calls. A statement issued this week by Botsford Fire Rescue noted Blomberg’s half-century of service. The company noted their leader was until very recently “among the first responders at fire scenes to strap on an air pack and head into burning buildings. He had a spectacular record of responding to nearly all the calls for service Botsford Fire Rescue received and was often among those first on the scene at calls in other districts.”

Blomberg had apprenticed as a cabinet maker and became an accomplished finish carpenter, “a trade he continued practicing throughout his life,” the fire company statement also noted. Later in life he took a maintenance position within Newtown Public Schools. Working at Newtown Middle School, “he was always stationed in a central location permitting him to be available for many calls throughout the community,” the company said this week.

First Selectman Jeff Capeci said the longtime Newtown resident “had a warm and friendly personality that will be deeply missed by both the Newtown fire community and the wider town alike. His dedication to our Newtown truly makes it a better place for everyone.”

Board of Fire Commissioners Chair Patrick Reilly extended his condolences on behalf of that board to Blomberg’s family. Blomberg, he said, “was one of those guys that everyone knew and liked.

“There is a big hole at Botsford” Fire Rescue, he added.

While the friendly and respected septuagenarian will be missed in the fire service, his friendship and personality is also being mourned.

“Pete was one of the funniest dudes you’d ever meet,” White said Wednesday. “He had such a good way with people too. He knew how to get people to do things the right way, without ruffling too many feathers.”

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.