Norwich Ave House Fire

June 29, 2018 -At 11:15hrs this morning we were dispatched to 50
Norwich Ave for a building fire. Upon confirmation of a working fire by
the PD and numerous 911 calls, the alarm was upgraded.  Crews
stretched hoselines to the fire room and extinguished the fire. All
occupant got out safe and no injuries were reported. We would like to
Thank Norwich Local 892, Occum fire, Yantic and Mohegan Tribe for
their assist. Everyones prompt respond made for a quick resolution to
this incident that could of been worst due to the size of the house and
weather conditions.
Mathieu St House Fire

July 26, 2018 -On Sunday 07/22/2018 at 19:03 hrs, Taftville was
dispatched to a building fire at 33 Frank St. Members were in the
station for a meeting at the time of the alarm and could see the smoke
from the station. ET-21 and Tower-25 arrived within 2 minutes of the
alarm to find fire involving the breezeway, extending up the rear to the
2nd floor. Attack lines were deployed and fire suppression began. Due
to many factors such as weather, Poor hydrant pressure, Etc a 2nd
alarm was requested by Chief Jencks, which brought Occum, Yantic,
City Eng-2 and Mohegan Tribe into the scene. Due to this house being
located on a hill with little hydrant pressure. Occum was instructed to
lay a supply line from South B St into the scene and pump the water up
the hill. The fire was knocked down in 20 minutes from time of alarm.
One firefighter was treated and transported for a illness due to weather.
The cause in under investigation
Taftville used "Jaws of Life" to free trapped driver

August 7, 2018 - At 09:28hrs Taftville FD was dispatched to an auto
accident in front of the Sacred Heart Church on Providence St. PD on
scene reported extrication was needed. Units arrived to find a single
occupant of a car vs pole, heavily entrapped with life threatening
injuries. Under the command of Car-429 (Dept Safety Officer) crews
started removing 2 doors, B post, part of the fender and rolled the dash
off the patient. Yantic Rescue-3 was added to the call per our protocol
for a back-up heavy rescue truck. 2 American Paramedics and 1 EMT
provided medical care to the patient. Taftville crews extricated the
victim in 16 minutes. A Trauma Alert notification was made and
American transported the victim to Backus in Norwich for stabilization,
then transfered to Hartford Hospital with life threatening injuries. Thank
you to the Yantic Fire Co for responding with Rescue-3 and helping us
pick up after the incident. Even though Rescue-3 wasn't needed, it is
always reassuring to know your there when and if we need you.
Jewett City 2nd Alarm House fire

August 22, 2018 - Last Night at 23:00hrs Taftville ET-22 & Tower-25
was assigned to a building fire in the Jewett City section of Griswold.
Taftville crews joined crews from Jewett City FD, Griswold FD, Lisbon
FD, Plainfield FD, and Yantic FAST. Griswold Chief arrived first and
reported a well involved vacant house fire. This is the 2nd time we have
been to this building and due to the damage from the 1st fire, this was a
DO NOT ENTER building. Large bore attack lines and blitz monitors
were deployed to attack the fire. It took roughly 3 hours to extinguish
due to fire hidden deep in the building behind collapses walls and roof
sections. The cause is under investigation
One Auto into the Shetucket River, during search find a 2nd

September 4, 2018 - At 18:35hrs on Monday evening The
Taftville/Yantic Dive team was requested by the Lisbon FD to retrieve a
auto that accidentally rolled into the Shetucket River. When the team
arrived they interviewed the vehicles owner and crews took to the water
to search for the vehicle using sonar. Crews found the vehicle and
marked it. When the divers went down to recon the vehicle, the divers
were surprised to find a 2nd vehicle in the water. That vehicle was
marked, and crews started recovery of the 1st vehicle. Then a heavy
duty wrecker was used for the 2nd vehicle which turned out to be stolen
form 2009. It took over 3 hours to recover both vehicles. No injuries
were reported. Ct State Police are investigating both incidents. Thank
you to the members of the Lisbon FD for their support and manpower.
Photos from various sources used with permission.
Pickup Truck Fire on South 4th Ave

October 13, 2018 - Taftville was dispatched to a truck fire on South
4th Ave. Car-20, Et-21 & Et-22 arrived to find a active truck fire.  a
attack line was stretched and the fire extinguished.  Cause is under  
investigation by Norwich FMO
Truck rollover with entrapment

October 27, 2018 - Taftville was dispatched to a auto rollover on
Norwich Ave in front of the bank.  Crews arrived to find the driver
unable to get out of the truck.  Crews worked to remove the driver
who had non-life threatening injuries
Worker pinned between dumpster and truck

December 23, 2018 - At 08:30hr Rescue-2, ET-21, Car-20
responded to Norwich Ave for a person pinned by a dumpster. Units
arrived to find a victim with a serious head injury and provided
immediate medical treatment. It appears something failed during off
loading of trash causing the dumpster to roll over the truck pinning
the operator against the truck. American transported and Norwich
PD are investigating.
Anniversary History of the fire siren

December 22, 2018 - This Day in Taftville History - On this day 96
years ago, Dec 22, 1922, The Taftville Hose Company installed fire
sirens in the village to alert village firemen of fires. Up to this point there
had been recent fires that the village fireman were not notified of in the
area. One recent fire was a duplex fire on Terrace Ave where the
Norwich FD responded after a telegraph notification to the Norwich fire
chief requested help. Workers at the velvet mill had pulled hose off a
hydrant to keep the fire in check. It was not until the Norwich FD had
been on scene awhile that Taftville was notified cause residents didn't
know how to notify them. The 1st horn was installed on the fire station
on Merchants Ave. Pictured below. The second was installed on a
power pole behind the mill store on North Second Ave. This horn was
attached to a fire alarm box at the base of the pole. When there was a
fire, a person would go to the box, break the glass and pull down the
hook in the box which would activate the siren. This is where the
fireman term " Hook the box" came from. When the siren/horn activated,
the village fireman would run to the station, grab the hosecart and
motorized truck and respond to the box. Once at the box they would get
the location of the fire. Sometimes they didn't need to go to the box as
they would see the column of smoke from the station, or as we call it "A
header" As time went on additional sires were installed until the late
1980's, early 1990's were all but one siren was removed from service.
Today the last siren located on top of the current station sounds about
700 times a year and as in recent decades fire station sirens has been
a conversation piece at local coffee shops or in the news as they
disrupt residents lives, but there is still a need for them. As technology
in notification to emergency responders has developed rapidly, nothing
has been more reliable than the 1920 station siren. In recent major
weather events, Cell Phone apps and pagers have not worked due to
phone lines and servers going down, but the station sirens have always
worked. Just last November a resident having a major medical condition
summons fireman by hooking the station box where they received
medical aid in minutes. One recent summer, a child ran down
Merchants Ave, hooked the box to report a apartment building fire. Per
national and federal requirements, we as the FD have to provide more
than one way to notify our members of village emergencies and this
1920's siren has proven time and again its reliability. Hope you enjoyed
this bit of village history and have a little better understanding of why
we "still use the siren"
TT units gets stuck on School st

December 22, 2018 - As of 21:00hrs Car-2, Rescue-2, &ET-22 are
currently operating on School St for a TT unit hung up on the corner in
danger of tipping over. Please avoid the area.
2018 Incidents