Contributed Photos
NHFD out in force for Sunday’s ceremony.
New Haven firefighters traveled to Windsor Locks to support the family of fallen colleague Ricardo Torres Jr. —and to New York to return the support that came from a nonprofit organization.
Both those trips took place on Sunday.
One NHFD contingent attended a ceremony in which Torres’ name was added to the State of Connecticut Fallen Firefighters Memorial. Torres died while fighting a Valley Street fire on May 12. Lt. Samod Rankins, who almost died in the same fire but has since recovered, was among the New Haven firefighters attending Sunday’s event.
The other contingent attended New York City’s Steven Siller Tunnel to Towers 5K race, to show appreciation for the support the Tunnel to Towers organization gave both the Torres family and New Haven’s department after Torres’ death.
At the 5k.
Not forgotten? Nothing has changed since May 12th. No accountability, even less training than before if you could imagine that, and further spiraling morale. Take the number of budgeted positions, subtract 72 for the shift working, over-estimate maybe 10-15 are sick or away on vacation, and compare that number to the people you can count in the photos. That says it all.