West Haven fire district collecting own historical artifacts
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
By Amanda Pinto, Register Staff
apinto@nhregister.com / Twitter: @ampinct
By Amanda Pinto
Register Staff
apinto@nhregister.com
WEST HAVEN — Inside the office Lt. Bill Heffernan shares with other Center District fire officials is a small file cabinet filled with
pictures and news clippings dating back to the 19th century.
That cabinet has become the West Haven Fire Department Historical Library, a growing collection that Heffernan is building in honor of
the department’s 125th anniversary in 2013.
Since last year, Heffernan and Firefighter Andy Bennett have worked to gather historical artifacts so that by the department’s
anniversary, they have a rich history to display on firehouse walls.
“We’ve got great stories,” he said. “This guy Lloyd Cameron was the first paid fire chief in 1936; when he retired in 1945, he took the
firetruck home, it was his. ... There was a big lawsuit.”
That incident resulted in a 1945 comic strip that appeared in the Boston Herald. Heffernan’s work has been investigating “stories and
urban legends” and digging up the historical evidence behind them.
“Where do you find the stuff? It’s like a treasure hunt almost,” Heffernan said of his efforts.
The hunt has turned up some gems so far: newspaper articles from the 1888 Hinman House fire, when firefighters came on horsedrawn carriages from New Haven, but couldn’t stem the blaze that reduced the hotel to ashes. Heffernan also has a copy of the
department’s original, handwritten rules and regulations from 1892, a picture of the department’s first fire rescue unit, and a firefighters’
photograph from the 1930s, which may show former Chief William S. “Wiggy” Johnson Jr. as a child in the background.
What Heffernan is missing is more information about the six volunteer chiefs who preceded Lloyd Cameron. He’s hoping area residents
will come forward with their artifacts, so that he can copy them.
Lloyd Cameron’s granddaughter, resident Vaughn Shepard Grant, is among those who has already donated photographs and
memorabilia to the department. Her father was also a city firefighter.
“I said if I go, it’s going to go in the trash can,” Grant said of her photographs, adding she will always after a soft spot for firefighting lore.
“It’s just the history and some of the stories that I remember my mother talking about. My mother and father got married and the
reception was down in the yard on First Avenue, and they delivered the new firetruck to the yard, ” Grant said.
Those with artifacts can contact Heffernan at whfdhistory@gmail.com. A list of the chiefs about whom he is looking for information is
at www.nhregister.com.
URL: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/06/28/news/metro/doc4e0a7d2600e06104891692.prt
© 2011 nhregister.com, a Journal Register Property