Fire Department News

By Tom Galeota, Engineer ET 334

Thank you to all who attended the Big Steak Dinner recently at the firehouse. It was another success. All the proceeds supplement the Departments budget provided by the Town and are used to purchase much needed equipment.

Several members recently completed the Life Star air ambulance landing protocol course at Backus and Hartford Hospitals. The course is designed to create a safe, seamless operation between the flight crew and on-the-ground emergency responders to ensure the fastest response time for those in need. In a future article I will explain more about Life Star and will report on my upcoming 8-hour ride-along with them.

At this year’s annual Department dinner, Vincent Giammona was awarded a five-year service award. Vinnie came to this Department after many years of service as a firefighter with the Fire Department of New York. Vinnie brings many years of experience and is a wealth of knowledge. He knows all the stuff in the books, and maybe more importantly, the stuff that’s not. He’s also a great guy to just sit and talk with.

Jason and Justin Preuss received their ten year service awards. Both grew up in Bolton and during their tenure in the Department have responded to well over 1000 calls each. They know the community well. Often when they respond to calls the people in need of help know them personally.

I recently had the pleasure of spending some time with Ray Soma. Ray was born and raised in Bolton. He became a proud member of the Bolton Fire Department the year “My Favorite Martian” was a hit TV show, Leslie Gore had the hit “It’s My Party”, Alford Hitchcock’s “The Birds” was scaring everyone at the movies and the audio cassette revolutionized the way people could listen to music. The year? 1963! Ray and his wife Nancy have two children. Nancy has been a member of the Department’s Ladies Auxiliary for many years and currently serves as its president. Besides the Department, Ray has served in many capacities around town, including selectman from 1970-1972. He retired from the telephone company in 1994 and then went to work for the Town of Bolton Highway Department. In January of 2006, after 12 years with the town, he went to work part time (40 hours per week) for Fibertech Networks, a telecommunications company.

During his tenure with the Department, Ray was an engineer on various fire apparatus and rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant and then captain. In 1990 he was selected as Firefighter of the Year. He is a member of the Fire Commission, where he has served for more than 30 years, including many years as chairman. Ray talked about the old firehouse on Notch Road (it’s now the home of the Community Voice Television Channel). In the “old days” there was no 9-1-1. When you had an emergency you called the firehouse. A phone line ran from the firehouse to the house next door. Elna Dimock lived there. She would answer the phone day or night, take down the emergency information then start calling department members on their phones (no, not cell phones!). There were no pagers, there was no county dispatch center in Tolland as there is today. In fact, there was a large, loud horn on top of the old firehouse that, when it worked, would also serve to summon firefighters to the firehouse. Pity those who lived next door! Ray said the old station eventually got so cramped that to get into the driver’s seat of the big engine tank (ET 234) you’d have to get in the passenger door and crawl over to it. The town continued to grow and in order to protect the townspeople, so did the Department. Ray was on the committee that guided the design and construction of the current firehouse.

As you might imagine, Ray has seen many changes since he first joined. Communications technology has increased exponentially, several times over. There has been a decrease in not only the number of structure fires but also their severity. He credits better construction, smoke alarms and fire prevention education. Improved training, safety and equipment have greatly improved the odds of us coming home safely to our families. He has experienced many good times and a few sad times. He has served under many chiefs and liked them all. He considers himself very fortunate to have served and continue to serve with many fine, dedicated people, including many years with the Preuss family. He believes that you have to encourage the younger members to move forward in the department, even if it means personally stepping aside to allow them space. I asked him if there were any times in his career that he regretted serving the community. His answer was quick and short. None! He insists that it’s been, and continues to be a great department with team players and good leaders. Ray prides himself on being a firefighter as we all do. The difference is he’s been at it for 43 years! Thank you, Ray…and thank you for reading. Stay safe.