www.WashingtonCT.org The Town of Washington, Connecticut Washington Volunteer Fire Department

Emergency: 911 Or, if 911 fails, 860-868-7300 Telephone: • Washington Depot 860-868-7403 • New Preston 860-868-7831 Fax: 860-868-0621 Fire Marshal: 860-567-7617 860-348-2386 to leave voice messages 1-800-348-2386 U.S. Mail Address: Washington Volunteer Fire Department P.O. Box 244 Washington Depot, CT 06794 Street Address: Washington Volunteer Fire Department 109 Bee Brook Road Washington Depot, CT 06794 Fire Chief: Mark Showalter 1st Assistant: Darryl Wright 2nd Assistant: Brian Ohman Captain: Mike Difronzo 1st Lieutenant: Caleb Shropshire 2nd Lieutenant: Ethan Labella

UPCOMING EVENTS

The Washington Volunteer Fire Department fiscal year 2010-2011 call breakdown is as follows:

Auto alarms	Carbon monoxide / Haz Mat	Motor Vehicle accidents	Chimney	Structure
88	15	28	3	12
EMS/ rescue	Wires down	Horse down	Cellar pump	Brush
23	12	1	30	5

A majority of our calls continues to be automatic alarms, motor vehicle accidents and EMS assists. There was a storm in March that dumped about three inches of rain in six hours that kept us busy for about twenty four hours with cellar pumps, wires down and road closers. The number of structure fires is listed as twelve. All of them were minor and did not result a large loss. It is very common to be called out at least once or twice a year for something that we have not seen before or hadn’t seen in a while. This year it was a horse down. There was a veterinarian that needed help moving a horse from the field into the barn. The department is made up of all kinds of people. Our members have different back rounds, knowledge and experience and we all are very lucky. Mission accomplished. In addition to structural firefighting, the department continues to be prepared by training and becoming educated based on the type of calls that we respond to. This year we combined grant money and a donation from the WVFD Auxiliary to establish a sixteen man swift water rescue team. The Shepaug River is an attraction for canoes and kayakers and there have been calls in the past for rescues on the river. We hired an instructor from Dive Rescue International to conduct a twenty-four hour class. We purchased gear with the grant and the Auxiliary purchased an inflatable boat. At a time when other towns are struggling to attract and retain members, our department has a good mix of experience and youth
who are willing to step up and get the job done.

Thank you for your continued support.
Mark Showalter
Fire Chief
Washington Volunteer Fire Department

Annual Reports:

See the Town Annual Report for yearly reports on the activities of the Fire Department.

The Ladies Auxiliary of The Washington Volunteer Fire Department

Memorial Day Parade, 2004 Photo by Kristine (Johnson) Mothersele

The Ladies Auxiliary was organized in 1979, with the purpose to provide assistance and support to the firemen in their duties whenever and wherever needed. This continues to be our goal today.
The officers are as follows Betsy Brinton - President, Rosa Woodruff - Vice President, Jennifer Wilber - Secretary, Claire Wilber - Treasurer.

The Auxiliary holds several events throughout the year to help raise money for the needs of the Fire Department.

The Auxiliary has begun to sell pewter ornaments depicting local buildings. The ornaments are drawn by Cyndy Brissett and created by Woodbury Pewter. We have been selling the ornaments since 1999. We began in 1999 with "The Old Depot Firehouse", 2000 was the "Bryan Memorial Hall" and 2001 was the "Harry O. Erickson Pavilion Hall". In 2002, we began the first ornament in the church series with "The Stone Church" in New Preston. "The First Congregational Church of Washington" was the 2003 ornament. The ornament for 2004 was "St. Andrew's Church in Marble Dale." Our 2005 ornament depicts "Papa Joe's Doggie Wagon." 2006 was “New Preston Falls”, 2007 was “New Preston Cong. Church” 2008 was “St. John’s Church” 2009 was “ Engine 1” 2010 was “Salem Covenant Church”. The 2011 ornament is “Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church” We are currently taking orders for the ornaments and have past years available. To place orders for an ornament please call Betsy Brinton at 860-868-7961.

In March we sell Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick’s Day. You can place an order by calling Claire Wilber at 860-868-0232. We sell small and large loaves with or without caraway seeds. Please specify. Other activities the Auxiliary participates in include the Memorial Day Parade and Holiday in the Depot and The W.V.F.D.’s Carnival. In the fall we sell pumpkins in the Depot.

The Auxiliary also sponsors two awards to residents of the Washington community that will be graduating from S.V.H.S., in which we hold two Bake Sales in conjunction with the Lion’s Club Lobster Sale to fund these awards.

Some of the Auxiliary members have taking part in an Emergency Preparedness Course sponsored by the American Red Cross. The course taught us how to prepare an emergency shelter in the event that we would need to open one.

Although are current membership is small, we welcome anyone to join. We have a meeting on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:30 at the Depot Firehouse. There are many ways to help that require only a small amount of your time. To find out more about joining the Auxiliary call Rosa Woodruff at 860-868-0111