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.