Category Archives: BHC News

2021 Carnival Set for October 15-17; Buy $10,000 Raffle Tickets Here

July 11, 2021 Beacon Hose 1 Comment

UPDATE: Thanks for everyone’s unbelievable support!

Beacon Falls’ favorite tradition is coming back after we missed a year — the 57th annual Beacon Hose Firemen’s Carnival is set for October 15-17, 2021!

We’re extraordinarily excited for this year’s event, which will be the first one we’ve ever held during the fall. We hope you can join us as we celebrate a return to normalcy!

You know what’s also back in 2021? Our enormous raffle with $17,000 IN CASH PRIZES, including a $10,000 GRAND PRIZE. Scroll down for more information, including how to buy your ticket.

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BHC News, Events

2nd Annual Boil, Broil, and Bologna Drive-Thru to Benefit BHC Special Ops Unit

July 8, 2021 Beacon Hose Leave a comment

UPDATE: Orders have now closed. Thanks for your support!

Y’all already know that our carnival will be held in October this year — but we know you want some good food before then! That’s why we’re holding our second annual Beacon Hose Boil, Broil, and Bologna Drive-Thru Dinner!

The event is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 7, from 4-7 p.m.. All dinners must be pre-ordered and pre-paid, and they picked up during a designated time slot at Beacon Hose. Pre-ordering will close on Wednesday, Aug. 4 — there will be no day-of orders available, so don’t wait!

This year, proceeds will go toward advancing Beacon Hose’s new special operations unit. This unit provides for swift-water rescue, ice rescue, rope rescue, and dive-team capabilities as part of the Region 5 Dive Team. The town provides some funding for equipment, but this fundraiser will allow us to self-fund more upgrades, equipment, and training opportunities for the 15-plus Beacon Hose members on our unit.

What’s on the menu? Not just the classic lobster dinners available every year at our carnival, but also the return of the Lobster Bomb! We’ll also have steak dinners on the grill, and some beloved bologna sandwiches!

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BHC News

Ion Bank Foundation Provides Beacon Hose With New Rescue Tool

July 5, 2021 Beacon Hose Leave a comment

Beacon Hose recently received a grant from the Ion Bank Foundation which allowed us to purchase a FAST Rescue Board. This equipment is typically used as part of a Rapid Intervention Team to rescue a downed firefighter.

The grant also provided for an upgrade to include water- and ice-rescue capabilities to this board, which will allow us to use it in many more capacities as part of our developing special operations unit. Beacon Hose trained with this new equipment June 22.

There will be many upgrades coming to our repurposed special operations trailer in the coming months — stay tuned for updates and information on the Aug. 7 fundraiser dinner. Thank you to the Ion Bank Foundation for helping our community with this great tool!

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BHC News

Beacon Hose Fights Fire at Morning Wood Drive Home

June 25, 2021 Beacon Hose Leave a comment

Beacon Hose responded to Morning Wood Drive on Friday, June 25, for a structure fire. After the initial dispatch at 8:09 a.m., firefighter Kevin O’Connell, who lives on the same road, reported heavy fire coming from the home.

We activated our daytime mutual-aid fire protocol, which brought incoming apparatus and manpower from the Naugatuck Fire Department, Oxford Center Volunteer Fire Company, Bethany Volunteer Fire Department, Citizens’ Engine Co. No. 2, and Great Hill Hose Co. Beacon Hose’s Truck 6 and Engine 3 were on the assignment.

Firefighter Mark Pinto, who lives across the street from the home, had already prepared the hydrant and immediately hit the hydrant when Beacon Hose’s Truck 6 arrived first on scene. We established an initial line from Truck 6’s water supply to make a defensive attack on the body of the fire, and additional lines (and later the ladder pipe) were established as soon as flow was established from the hydrant. The bulk of the fire was knocked down within about 20 minutes.

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BHC News

BHC Mourns Passing of Past Chief Ted Smith, CSFA Hall of Famer

June 8, 2021 Beacon Hose 1 Comment

Beacon Hose is heartbroken and devastated to announce the passing of Past Chief Ted Smith — a man who was quite simply a legend in the Connecticut fire service. Chief Smith died Saturday, shortly after a medical procedure. He lived every single bit of 75 years — the last 51 of which were spent at Beacon Hose.

Chief Smith joined Beacon Hose in August 1970, but he had been involved with our fire department for much longer than that. He was the son of Past Chief Arthur Smith, who led Beacaon Hose from 1956-61, and frequented the firehouse throughout that time.

After joining Beacon Hose in 1970, Teddy soon became one of our department’s first EMTs. He first became an officer as a lieutenant under Joe Daddona in 1986, rose to the rank of captain under Tom Pratt and Bob Cole, and spent five years as assistant chief under Billy Lee. Finally, Ted served as chief from 1997-2000, completing the first father-son chief combination in Beacon Hose history.

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