Fires Transform Branford

When I was a kid in Branford in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, we kept a chart on the inside of a cupboard door that listed the fire whistles for various neighborhoods of Branford. When we’d hear the sirens, we’d listen carefully, then check the chart and have an idea of where the fire was occurring. In retrospect, it was probably was a way of summoning volunteers to the scene.

Branford’s Main Street was reshaped by fires during the 20th century. One in particular that sticks in my mind was the Marcus 5 &10 on Jan. 28, 1961. The store was at the corner of Park Street, where Pasta Cosi is now located. I could see the glow in the sky from my bedroom window. Thereafter, every time I’d hear sirens, I’d look for that glow in the sky.

Branford experienced many fires on either side of that mid-century timeline as chronicled last month by fire photographer Dorrance Johnson, 50-year volunteer firefighter, EMT, and former Branford police officer. He also shared in a talk he gave at the Blackstone Library how the equipment evolved and how the different fire stations in town were established to meet the needs of the growing town.

Many veteran firefighters were in the packed auditorium at the library; the event was sponsored by the Branford Historical Society in its efforts to raise funds for the purchase of Harrison House. Many nodded in recognition of the memories shared.

Johnson said that at the turn of the century, firefighting was carried out by hand-drawn hose carts. Water was supplied to fire hydrants from the Supply Pond dam, built solely for that purpose. There was no established department and whoever was on the scene would pitch in to fight the blaze.

The Louis A. Fisk Hose Company was established in 1899, housed in Sliney’s barn on Veto Street. Volunteers had to literally run to the fires. Other stations were behind the Lockworks factory on Hillside Avenue and behind town hall. In Stony Creek, the Live Oak Hook & Ladder Co. was established in 1900 under the direction of Alexander Sutherland. In the center of town, the M.P. Rice Co. was founded in 1900; that building still stands, across from the Richlin plaza.

According to Johnson, the first motorized engine was acquired by John Barnes in 1910. In 1912 Irving Baldwin (pictured) housed the truck in his garage on John Street, off Main Street; the truck would be moved out during the day so car repairs could take place. Baldwin was ​“wedded” to the job and remained active for decades. ​“Baldwin’s whistle” on the garage’s roof would alert volunteers.

The large bell at Trinity Church on the Green was also used to summon volunteers.

A 1914 Pierce Arrow was added in Short Beach as Engine 4.

The Indian Neck department was organized in 1934 and by 1940 Fire Headquarters was established at the location of the former NAPA parts business. It was conveniently located across the street from Smitty’s Stonewall Tavern at the corner of Main Street and Kirkham, a favorite hangout.

Ironically, the Stonewall Tavern and its later iteration, the Short Beach Saloon, both burned. In July 1974, Helen Schmitt, the wife of the owner, died as she was trying to escape the fire. The Short Beach Saloon, built on the same site, burned in August 2002.

By 1953, the department consisted of eight trucks. As older trucks were replaced with newer ones, they were handed down among outlying departments.

A new headquarters was completed in July 1963 (pictured) and served the town until 2012, when the facility in use today was dedicated. The headquarters cost $186,000 and with it came the first ​“career” firefighters. Jack Tweed was hired as Deputy Chief/Fire Marshall and the six new firefighters – Wayne Babcock, Charles Sampson, Louis Yanac, Hal Prisley, Phillip Burns, and Bruno Ceccolini – had all been volunteers.

In the meantime, the Rescue Squad was established in 1970 under the direction of Peter Mullen.

The Fires: Main Street

The transformation of Branford’s Main Street started with a fire in the Toole block in March 1924. It was also where the town lost its first firefighter. George Vickstrom, 23, died as he was trying to save the legal documents of Attorney Frank Kinney.

Did you know that Canoe Brook School was originally two stories? The roof and second story burned in April 1939; the children were safely evacuated. The town decided that the first story was salvageable and repaired the building, turning it into the single story structure we know today.

In March 1944, a big fire on Park Place, off Main Street, consumed Redman’s Hall.

Some may remember when the Branford Theater burned in January 1953. (It was rebuilt in the same location.) Two policemen attempted to extinguish the fire but two explosions were powerful enough to blow steel beams across the front of the building.

A second Branford firefighter lost his life in January 1958 when Central Hardware Store burned; it was located in the block between the current Branford Book and Card and Waiting Station.

Back then, there was no breathing apparatus. That combined with an explosion took his life.

The fire that destroyed Marcus 5&10 (mentioned above) was described as one of the worst in town. It took place on a cold, icy night in January 1961, just after Fire Chief Jack Tweed, speaking at an event earlier in the evening, said Branford “was due for a good one.” The 5&10 and adjoining beauty salon were declared a total loss. According to the Branford Review, firefighters poured more than a half a million gallons of water on the blaze, the cause of which may have been defective electrical wiring in the basement of the store.

Main Street was spared until June 18, 1972, when St. Mary’s Church went up in flames; that fire was deemed “suspicious.” Firefighters tried to attack the blaze from the second floor because the roof was involved. However, the roof collapsed, trapping two of the men. They were eventually pulled out through a window that would have normally been blocked by the organ, which had been removed before the fire.

It was determined that the fire started in the confessional. The huge stone building took days to demolish.

The next day, a gas explosion blew out the side of a house on Clark Avenue in Short Beach killing the resident. Mrs. Mabel Hayward was the widow of firefighter Jerome Hayward, who died of a heart attack on the job in 1964.

A week later a huge blaze and explosion “obliterated” the Grocery Basket on Main Street.

The two Main Street fires, along with a fire in April that total destroyed DeLew’s Radio Surplus on West Main Street, led to rumors that they were suspiciously related. A backdraft blew three firefighters off their feet. A news conference led by then-First Selectman John Sliney, Fire Chief Jack Tweed, Police Chief Raymond Wiederhold, and a state trooper from the State Fire Marshall’s office offered explanations for all the blazes and attempted to put the rumors to rest.

That was not the end of Main Street fires. Several additional fires devastated local businesses.

Old Town Tavern (the current site of Home Restaurant) burned in April 1973. The cause of the fire was a cigarette in the basement.

Towne Pharmacy and Ward’s Radio Store burned in June 1976, and Horwitz Department Stores and an adjacent bank experienced some smoke damage. According to the Branford Review, records from both businesses were salvaged and the businesses reopened in a nearby bank building. Towne Pharmacy rebuilt in the same location under different ownership and is celebrating 40 years in business come November.

In April 1977, a fire gutted the Yankee Pedaler bike shop on Veto Street, off Main. Response was complicated when the policeman reporting the fire found the dispatcher asleep on the job.

The Rosenthal block, also the former Lockworks Factory site, at the bottom of Main Street, burned in November 1979. I lived on Bradley Avenue at the time. As I let my cat out the back door in the early morning hours, I saw the whole sky lit up. It was that familiar glow from my childhood, up close and personal.

Here is another view of the Rosenthal block.

Branford Food Center, Branford Drug, and the Town & Country Restaurant were destroyed and several other businesses were affected. Fire Chief Tweed said later that the cause of the blaze may never be known. Damaged exceeded half a million dollars. 

In January 1998, there was a fire that many residents remember today. The much-loved Castellon’s Bakery and six other businesses went up in flames on a cold windy night. According to the Hartford Courant, the town had just spent $7 million refurbishing Main Street. A colorful painted fence was erected along the block afterwards and stood for a couple of years as rebuilding took place. Residents fondly remember Castellon’s crullers and the smell of the bakery on a Sunday morning.

Arson & Lax Fire Codes Lead To More Fires

While the Main Street fires were the most dramatic and memorable, a host of other major blazes challenged Branford’s firefighters. Fire companies were created in various neighborhoods to hasten response.

These other fires were not without intrigue and drama as well, but they served to hone firefighters’ skills and led to the technologically advanced department Branford has today.

According to fire officials, two reasons can be cited for the high number of fires back then.

First, arson, as noted in these and various other fires not listed, was not uncommon. Police departments at that time did not have arson squads to investigate suspicious fires, which were often set for insurance purposes. Now, arson investigation is in the forefront and convicted arsonists go to prison.

Second, fire codes back then were lax and are now extremely tough. The smoking bans in public facilities, churches, and restaurants are common and accepted. Not back then: As a young reporter out of college, I attended many smoke-filled town meetings and later worked in many smoke-filled offices.

Here’s a quick run-down of fires that took place beyond Main Street.

October 1938: Linsley Rooming Housing on Meadow Street across the street from the Eel Pot today. Three men died, three firemen were injured, and nine men were rescued in that fire.

December 1949: Charles Knott’s car crashed into propane tanks; Knott’s wife and kids were asleep in the car and all died.

April 1952: Collins Rest House, Leetes Island Road. Eva Collins died trying to rescue two invalids for was caring for. She attempted to escape by tying bedsheets together. Reporter John Cameron Swayze was staying nearby and reported on the event, which initiated safety rules for nursing homes.

August 1953: Sachs Dairy Farm. Cause determined to be spontaneous combustion.

October 1953: Klappersack Farm. A chicken farm located at the site of the former Bittersweet Farm, East Main Street.

March 1957: Canada Dry distributor, West Main Street, at current Pier One location. Cause was gas tank explosion.

March 1958: Golden Anchor Hotel on Shore Drive. A basement fire that appeared to be extinguished but crept up the walls to the second floor.

March 1958: Price House in Pawson Park. Started by a lamp left in a closet when a girl was searching for her lost cat.

November 1961: Catherine Leonardo, 43 and a smoker, died in a flash fire when her nightgown caught fire.

May 1962: Osborn’s on Meadow Street adjacent to Atlantic Wire. The fire started in a grain silo. 

October 1963: Oasis Restaurant at the town line. A fire there resulted in $100K in damages. The Methodist Church was built on the site.

March 1965: A fire that destroyed the Indian Point Club in Stony Creek may have been cause by a space heater.

May 1966: A fire in a cottage on Money Island spread to two others structures. Fighting a fire in the Thimble Islands was a challenge because there was no fire boat.

March 1970: A 25-car train derailment that took place along Meadow Street early on a Sunday morning was caused by a broken axle. There was concern that a propane tank would explode but the tank was empty. According to the Branford Review, more than a 1,000 people visited the site during the day, and rail services was tied up for 15 hours.

March 1976: The Waverly Hotel in Indian Neck burned. One of the many old wooden summer hotels, it was occupied without utilities and in deteriorating condition.

June 1977: Two college-age kids died in a fire on South Montowese Street. Arson was determined as the cause of the fire. Several other house fires over the years were determined as arson.

March 1979: Irene Asher, a ​“heroic nurse” died in a fire on Goodsell Point Road that was riddled with irony. Mrs. Adler, a nurse, had offered her services at the 1942 Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston and at the Hartford circus fire in 1944. Her body was found during a brush fire next to her house.

December 1980: A fire at the Harbor Village condominiums was fought under icy conditions. It was made more difficult because there were no firewalls in the attics, which enabled the fire to spread.

November 1984: Universal Builders off West Main Street. The fire was declared an arson.

November 1996: Floors and More. Stony Creek firefighter Edward Ramos lost his life when he was trapped in the thick black smoke. Another firefighter was revived. Arson was strongly suspected and the store’s owner, Dominick Bontatibus was tried three times before the arson-murder charges were dropped.

November 1999: Storage building that was part of Branford Building Supply.

March 2006: A fire on Little Bay Lane that killed Kathy Hardy was determined to be arson-murder. In October, after a prolonged investigation and trial, John Vailette was convicted in U.S. District Court on a single count of arson resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. A second defendant is scheduled to stand trial.

March 2012: A car carrier caught fire off Exit 56. Nine new shrink-wrapped Audis were destroyed.

April 2015: Three-story home off Main Street. Three people were rescued in the early morning hours during a heavy fire.

On Sept. 8, 2012, the new fire headquarters on North Main Street was dedicated, the crown jewel in the history of the Branford Fire Department. The building has a 58-ton geo-thermal heating and cooling system, 27 geo-thermal wells, each 500 feet deep, and 111 solar panels for solar energy. There’s also a community room where many town meetings are held.

It’s all a far cry from Irving Baldwin’s garage on John Street, but given Baldwin’s devotion to the department, he would be proud.

Thanks to Town Historian Jane Bouley and the Branford Historical Society for supplying photographs. Additional information came from the Branford Review’s online archives available through the Blackstone Library.

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