Update: Thank you for your support!
Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 and Citizens’ Engine Co. No. 2 are proud to host the 132nd annual Connecticut State Firefighters Association Convention and Parade this Friday through Sunday, Sept. 18-20.
Hosting the state convention is an extraordinarily proud moment in the 116-year history of our department. We hope that town residents and visitors from departments throughout the state enjoy a weekend that has been more than a year in planning.
There is a great deal of updated information we wish to share before the convention is set to begin — some is for the departments who will be joining us for the convention and parade, and some is for the Beacon Falls residents who may be affected by Sunday’s parade.
FOR VISITING DEPARTMENTS
- The full schedule of events for the weekend can be found on this page. A brief summary of events:
- Friday: CSFA Luncheon and Irregulars Dinner
- Saturday: CSFA Convention and Presidents Luncheon
- Sunday: CSFA Parade
- The Connecticut Statewide Fire-Rescue Disaster Response Plan will be conducting a training event on Sunday prior to the parade. It is, at times, very confusing when several mutual aid units are responding and each department has its own channel on its own system that requires cross-patching (temporary) or cross-banding (fixed site) communications. This training exercise will be useful for departments and the state agency. Please read more information about the simple drill here.
- The parade lineup area will be at Lancaster Drive (the Beacon Falls Industrial Park). All apparatus and personnel must be in this area by 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. The lineup area will open at 9 a.m. Those driving apparatuses into the area are asked to drive to the end of Lancaster Drive and turn around before staging on the right side of the street. Offsite parking for marchers is available at Woodland Regional High School, just up the street from the lineup area. Shuttle buses will be provided between the school, the lineup area and the bullpen area.
- Directions to the lineup area and Woodland High, as well as more information about the lineup procedure, are available by clicking here. Click here to see the list of departments expected to attend.
- The parade route is just more than two miles long. It will begin at the lineup area proceed east along Route 42 to the center of Beacon Falls, with the reviewing stand located approximately 25 feet north of Route 42 and South Main Street.The parade will conclude at the Murtha Industrial Park on Railroad Avenue, where the bullpen area will be set up. Food, drinks and live entertainment will be available. The park offers plenty of on-site parking, and it is also the location the bullpen and trophy ceremony. Shuttle bus service back to Woodland High will be available until after the trophies are awarded late in the afternoon.
FOR BEACON FALLS RESIDENTS AND PARADE ONLOOKERS
- Residents and visitors who would like to watch the parade are invited to set up chairs and blankets on the median or the greenway sidewalk along South Main Street. (Note: The parade will not pass in front of the firehouse, so those who usually set up to watch our June parade on North Main Street will not be able to see the parade.) Parking and shuttling is available at Woodland High, or residents may find other places to park and walk to their locations. Some road shoulders and parking lots in the downtown area may be closed to parking, and we ask that onlookers respect local businesses when looking to park.
- Please note there will be no parking on the street along the parade route (this will be strictly enforced). Numerous roads and intersections will be closed for the duration of the parade, which is expected to be from noon until 3 p.m.
- Pines Bridge Road will be closed from Rimmon Hill to the Route 8 South ramp.
- Depot Street and Railroad Avenue will be closed entirely.
- The southbound side of South Main Street and a portion of the southbound side of North Main Street will be closed. In those closed areas, the northbound sides will be converted into two-way traffic. Please use extra caution in these areas.
- Side road intersections on the closed stretch of Pines Bridge Road — Old Pines Bridge Road, Quarry Road, Breault Street, Old Turnpike Road, Hubbell Avenue and Marilyn Avenue — will also be closed.
- Residents in the Lopus Road section of town will not be able to exit that area using Depot Street or Old Pines Bridge Road. Instead, the gate at Pond Spring Village will be open to allow passage through to Rimmon Hill and Route 42 West. Please respect the low speed limits in Pond Spring Village and use extra caution if passing fire apparatus and personnel in the lineup area, which will be along Lancaster Drive.
- Traffic officers will be stationed at these closed locations in cases of emergency. They will be able to hold up the parade briefly, when convenient for the parade, and allow residents onto a designated detour. The most affected areas will be Hubbell Avenue and Marilyn Avenue.
- If Beacon Falls residents have any questions, please contact Chief Jim Trzaski at 203-233-3551 or beaconhosechief@comcast.net.
FOR BEACON HOSE MEMBERS
Help will be needed throughout the week to set up, staff and clean up events.
- Work parties will be held each night this week at 6:30 p.m. at Beacon Hose. Work will include station maintenance and cleanup, equipment preparation and apparatus detailing.
- Assistance will be needed Saturday for the CSFA Convention Meeting at Seymour Middle School beginning at 7 a.m., as well as for the CSFA Presidents Luncheon at Beacon Hose beginning at 9 a.m.
- On Sunday, assistance will be needed in various locations to set up for the parade. Breakfast sandwiches will be available for members at 9 a.m. prior to setup. Cleanup help will be needed at the end of the day.