It Was A Busy Year For Newtown’s Emergency Services

By Andrew Gorosko

The 2000 town report for the fiscal year which ended last June 30 indicates that town police and fire personnel were quite busy during that 12-month period, handling law enforcement and public safety duties.

Police department patrols covered 333,631 miles of driving, responding to 12,463 calls for service, of which 2,584 calls resulted in formal investigations.

There was one case of murder, one suicide, and two attempted suicides.

Police responded to 10 untimely deaths. There was one case of forcible rape and six other sexual offenses. Two robberies were reported. Police received reports of 39 assaults. There were 61 burglaries and 221 larcenies.

Fifteen motor vehicles were stolen, of which 11 were recovered.

There were 54 reported domestic disputes. Police report 57 cases of harassment and 28 instances of disorderly conduct.

Police reported 54 cases of driving under the influence. In the area of illegal drug possession, there were 18 marijuana-related arrests, nine narcotics arrests, and one heroin arrest.

Police handled 174 cases of vandalism. There were 21 weapons violations.

The police department received 7,152 Emergency-911 telephone calls. It handled 2,024 false alarms. The department issued 1,811 traffic citations, handed out 1,216 written traffic warnings, and issued 894 verbal traffic warnings.

There were 613 motor vehicle accidents without injuries, and 117 accidents with injuries. There were two fatal accidents.

Of those collisions, there were 95 accidents involving motor vehicles and deer.

There were 372 disabled motor vehicles and 22 abandoned motor vehicles.

Police officers made 292 criminal arrests. Police served 47 arrest warrants.

They responded to 507 calls for medical assistance. Police investigated 446 reports of suspicious motor vehicles. Police worked on 62 radar speed assignments. They investigated 24 weapons discharges.

Police officers looked into 20 reports of suspicious persons and investigated 33 cases of missing persons/runaways.

Police checked into 15 cases of loitering and investigated five cases of common drunkenness.

Police personnel responded to 531 animal nuisance calls, in which 19 civilians were bitten by animals.

There were 28 cases of simple trespassing. Police investigated 132 public hazards. They made 72 checks on residents’ health and welfare.

Fire Reports

The town has no paid firefighters. About 170 trained volunteers operate out of five fire districts: Newtown Hook and Ladder, Sandy Hook, Botsford, Hawleyville, and Dodgingtown. Each district has one firehouse, except the sprawling Sandy Hook district which has two firehouses.

There are 31 pieces of fire/rescue equipment in Newtown, 10 pieces of which are town-owned.

The five volunteer fire companies responded to a total 1,220 calls in the fiscal year ending last June 30.

Of those, 67 were reported as structure fires, and 36 were vehicle fires.

There were 172 rescue calls. The fire volunteers received 250 calls stemming from alarm malfunctions and 225 calls on arcing electric lines.

Firefighters went to 31 brush fires and 23 controlled illegal burns. There were 77 hazardous materials spills.

Firefighters received 70 smoke scare reports and 38 carbon monoxide detector calls.

Copies of the 112-page fiscal 1999-2000 town report, which contains details on police fire services, plus many other agencies, are available free at the town clerk’s office at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.