Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, this is Vinny.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey Bennie, I'm a volunteer in Connecticut, Sir. The gentleman
who's passed away, most likely at his age, he was
most likely a driver. Most of our drivers in our
department are above sixty. I drive a tanker, and you
(00:22):
want them on scene because they have much more experience
than the young guys and our debt guns. The gun
is on the roof of the apparatus. They can pump
out as high as twenty five hundred pounds of twenty
five hundred gallons a minute, so you have a lot
(00:43):
of pressure and depending on how many lines you have,
you're at a pump pianel. And when figures happened, they're there.
With that amount of pressure and that amount of movement
of water, it can't go crazy very quickly.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
And something can something can break free. You're saying, do
you do you have kind of an idea. Probably what
happened is is that what you're kind of, you know,
dancing around.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
When when No, I don't know exact and you don't
want to speculate, but it sounds like something on the
apparatus broke loose. It could be if something could be
part of the pump grenadd or it could be a
hose that that let go. You know, A now's a
lot of oaths. Yeah, there's there's so much that can
(01:34):
go wrong on seeing and to be catastrophic like that
it was.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
It's awful. Yeah, that's why it's interesting to hear you
say that it's not unique. You mad. You said right
out you got a lot of drivers over the age
of sixty driving you to scene as a volunteer fireman.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, because you're not gonna I'm sixty five. Oh well,
in most of in most of the towns in Connecticut,
we bring our own water, so I'm the tanker driver.
And as you get older, you I hope you know
your limitations and what you can and can doll.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Yes, that was my concern here, you know, because God
bless him. I mean, you know, he served as a
marine thirty five years fire department of a volunteer. I know,
nothing was going to stop him from going to that
fire and retirements probably a word a guy like him
and you it sounds like I don't even know the definition.
(02:42):
I do, but it's just all it's heartbreaking that you
know that this can happen.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
And I'm in a department where we have young, younger guys.
A lot of people are younger than me. And I
went to school with your family, with my no, with
with family members. There's one guy I went to school
with his mother and I dated most of her friends.
(03:10):
So there there is a deep, a deep connection within
the fire department. Will yeah, I mean you you'll you'll
hear there's there's heated discussions and heated arguments. But when
that cone goes off, no, nobody, nobody, everything hands it's
(03:32):
it's you protect your buddy. You you you watch the
situation and the older guys can lead the fires that
that house, a household will be basically totaled within fifteen
to twenty minutes, especially now with with all the of
all the all the cheap materials. Yeah, so for a
(03:56):
house to to to in in the way they're structurally built.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Most of the houses well in not most of them,
but a good part of them. By the time when
the tone goes off, we have to leave within five minutes.
Whatever whoever people you have in the firehouse, that truck rolls,
but you're talking another sometimes five minutes to get to
(04:25):
the scene to pull a line. So most houses are
fully involved.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, at sixty five years old, you said you were
sixty five. What does it you do when you get
to the scene of a fire. What's what's your.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I drive a tanker and it has three thousand gallons
of water in it. So we set up what they
call a pond. We drop the water, and now I
go to the nearest fire hydrant and connect and fill
up in shuttle Art town is maybe it's Woodbridge. Our
(05:02):
town is maybe twenty five percent hydrogenated down in the flat.
If you're familiar with the flat.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, I'm familiar familiar with Woodbridge too. That's a lot
of beautiful homes with long and winding driveways, and accessing
them cannot be easy. That that's a that's a tricky town.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
You're you're, you're you know, there are a lot of
you know, McMansions that are three four five thousand square
feet with with with with a thousand foot driveway. So
now you're stretching what they call five inch hoes.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Sure are are you know?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Any type of host? So there's time to set up,
and you know, there's always is there somebody in the house.
Of course, there's there's a there's a lot of working
parts to it. So and and the older guys are
are valuable. They can control the scene. Yeah, well they can.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, you're one of them, right, I mean is there
older than you on your on your Oh yeah? Really
at sixty five you're are you? Are you considered one
of the young guys on your in your sixty five
years old? That's crazy?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Well, we have we have juniors that can start at fifteen, yes,
and we have a lot of a lot of twenty
year old, twenty five year olds, thirty years old. Then
there's kind of a little bit of a gap and
then it starts again at it like fifty. Yeah. And
the problem is what volunteers we have volunteers. I actually
(06:39):
live in New Haven. I grew up in Woodbridge, but
I'm a volunteer in Woodbridge. In my response time is
fairly decent. But we have people in Bethany who live
in Bethany who come to Woodbridge. And it's the same
thing with others. The local pounds. Orange has got people
from Milford, from Orange, from west Ham in volunteers. You
(07:02):
go through spurts, you'll get a group of volunteers and
then you'll get lean with young you know, with New blood.
It's an ongoing seesaw.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah, and according to the commissioner, could use a whole
lot more, could use a whole lot more bodies these says, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Oh absolutely, because you're a volunteer. There's people that have
daytime job.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Our daytime crew is an older crew, it's retired people.
It's a balancing act.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, I appreciate the insight and your dedication and your commitment.
My heart just goes out to this guy and to
his face. But you know what, he strikes me as
you wouldn't have it any other way. He was going
to show up at eighty eighty five if there was
a fire in the town he lived in, he was
going to be at it.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Oh yeah, No, it really becomes part of your makeup
and part of your blood because you get very connected
to the guys you're working with, sure and and and
you know their family. You watch their kids grow up,
you watch their kids get married, you watch their kids
(08:07):
have children. So it's it's it's a very it's it's
it's not a ninety five job. I mean, and I'm
not trying to take away from the paid guy.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, of course, of course, you know, but I know.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
It's to barrow off just a little bit. If you
take Sandy Hook guarantee, you of those firemen knew the
kids and knew the families.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And I remember that at the time. Yeah, I remember
hearing that at the time.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah, and you know we've had a a accident where
members kids knew the kids.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Oh yeah, I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
So it's when you have a small community like plain Plainville,
like Woodbridge, like Bethany, everybody knows everybody, and and when
you have a fatality, especially have a long time member,
it really hurts. It hurts deep. And and what Ocean
(09:19):
is gonna do is gonna shut down that truck.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, that's what That's what I was kind of dancing around,
if not coming right out and kind of saying, well.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
They're gonna shut it down, and them they're gonna find
out what failed. And and the problem with that is
now that fire department is down a big piece of apparatus. Yeah, yeah,
so it this this is gonna take a while. Well
and then like then, like you said, there's lossuits involved.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Oh yeah, well I do it again. I appreciate your insight.
I've got to get run in here, though, But thanks
so much for taking the time to call in.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
More quick question what happened to your book?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Which one.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I was listening to that I was actually going to
buy four of them and give them out his gift.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I know, Man, the publisher got scared. That's that's that's
at the end of the day, the book is done.
I believe they got.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Scared too bad. Find another publisher.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, a lot of it. Yeah, a lot of people
have said that to me. It's so unique. It's such
a regional title, though, But I do. I mean, I
have the entire manuscript to hell of a read too.
I'm really proud of it. But they did, they got
scared off.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
And I'm friends with people of Midge.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Oh yeah, yeah, I spoke with family members. I mean,
and that's the whole thing. I think. I to be
honest with you, I think I scared the publisher a
little bit too, that I knew as many people as
I did. Yeah, but I do. Uh, I appreciate I
(11:08):
appreciate you asking about.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
It, No, no problem. I'd love to hear that you're
you're getting a print. I even called up Arje Julia
and they told me there was a problem with a publisher.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Really, what did they say.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I called up looking for it and they said they
it had They basically told me that there was an
issue with the publication.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, because I actually called them a couple of times
and in the people I spoke to how to research it.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, and the and the actual editor assigned to my title.
Uh has since got fired right after that too, yeah. Uh.
And I think it's because they think she she dropped
the ball, which she did. She she she created a
couple of obstacles. I believe she was a little bit
(11:59):
scared and the whole thing just fell apart. That happens,
but I was I was really frustrated. I put a
lot of work into that.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
So no, and I would stop working just to listen
to your your your fing Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Because I would start I was reading. Yeah, I was
reading that.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
I know.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
I started sharing them on the air. I'm glad to
hear you enjoyed those. Yeah. Maybe I will get back
to shopping that around. I appreciate you what you bringing
it up.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Please do because you can put me down for four
you got it, man, I'll hold you to that, and
thank thanks again for your time. No problem, All right
to
Hey, this is Vinny.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Hey Bennie, I'm a volunteer in Connecticut, Sir. The gentleman
who's passed away, most likely at his age, he was
most likely a driver. Most of our drivers in our
department are above sixty. I drive a tanker, and you
(00:22):
want them on scene because they have much more experience
than the young guys and our debt guns. The gun
is on the roof of the apparatus. They can pump
out as high as twenty five hundred pounds of twenty
five hundred gallons a minute, so you have a lot
(00:43):
of pressure and depending on how many lines you have,
you're at a pump pianel. And when figures happened, they're there.
With that amount of pressure and that amount of movement
of water, it can't go crazy very quickly.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
And something can something can break free. You're saying, do
you do you have kind of an idea. Probably what
happened is is that what you're kind of, you know,
dancing around.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
When when No, I don't know exact and you don't
want to speculate, but it sounds like something on the
apparatus broke loose. It could be if something could be
part of the pump grenadd or it could be a
hose that that let go. You know, A now's a
lot of oaths. Yeah, there's there's so much that can
(01:34):
go wrong on seeing and to be catastrophic like that
it was.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
It's awful. Yeah, that's why it's interesting to hear you
say that it's not unique. You mad. You said right
out you got a lot of drivers over the age
of sixty driving you to scene as a volunteer fireman.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, because you're not gonna I'm sixty five. Oh well,
in most of in most of the towns in Connecticut,
we bring our own water, so I'm the tanker driver.
And as you get older, you I hope you know
your limitations and what you can and can doll.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Yes, that was my concern here, you know, because God
bless him. I mean, you know, he served as a
marine thirty five years fire department of a volunteer. I know,
nothing was going to stop him from going to that
fire and retirements probably a word a guy like him
and you it sounds like I don't even know the definition.
(02:42):
I do, but it's just all it's heartbreaking that you
know that this can happen.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
And I'm in a department where we have young, younger guys.
A lot of people are younger than me. And I
went to school with your family, with my no, with
with family members. There's one guy I went to school
with his mother and I dated most of her friends.
(03:10):
So there there is a deep, a deep connection within
the fire department. Will yeah, I mean you you'll you'll
hear there's there's heated discussions and heated arguments. But when
that cone goes off, no, nobody, nobody, everything hands it's
(03:32):
it's you protect your buddy. You you you watch the
situation and the older guys can lead the fires that
that house, a household will be basically totaled within fifteen
to twenty minutes, especially now with with all the of
all the all the cheap materials. Yeah, so for a
(03:56):
house to to to in in the way they're structurally built.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Most of the houses well in not most of them,
but a good part of them. By the time when
the tone goes off, we have to leave within five minutes.
Whatever whoever people you have in the firehouse, that truck rolls,
but you're talking another sometimes five minutes to get to
(04:25):
the scene to pull a line. So most houses are
fully involved.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Yeah, at sixty five years old, you said you were
sixty five. What does it you do when you get
to the scene of a fire. What's what's your.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I drive a tanker and it has three thousand gallons
of water in it. So we set up what they
call a pond. We drop the water, and now I
go to the nearest fire hydrant and connect and fill
up in shuttle Art town is maybe it's Woodbridge. Our
(05:02):
town is maybe twenty five percent hydrogenated down in the flat.
If you're familiar with the flat.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, I'm familiar familiar with Woodbridge too. That's a lot
of beautiful homes with long and winding driveways, and accessing
them cannot be easy. That that's a that's a tricky town.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
You're you're, you're you know, there are a lot of
you know, McMansions that are three four five thousand square
feet with with with with a thousand foot driveway. So
now you're stretching what they call five inch hoes.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Sure are are you know?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
Any type of host? So there's time to set up,
and you know, there's always is there somebody in the house.
Of course, there's there's a there's a lot of working
parts to it. So and and the older guys are
are valuable. They can control the scene. Yeah, well they can.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, you're one of them, right, I mean is there
older than you on your on your Oh yeah? Really
at sixty five you're are you? Are you considered one
of the young guys on your in your sixty five
years old? That's crazy?
Speaker 2 (06:17):
Well, we have we have juniors that can start at fifteen, yes,
and we have a lot of a lot of twenty
year old, twenty five year olds, thirty years old. Then
there's kind of a little bit of a gap and
then it starts again at it like fifty. Yeah. And
the problem is what volunteers we have volunteers. I actually
(06:39):
live in New Haven. I grew up in Woodbridge, but
I'm a volunteer in Woodbridge. In my response time is
fairly decent. But we have people in Bethany who live
in Bethany who come to Woodbridge. And it's the same
thing with others. The local pounds. Orange has got people
from Milford, from Orange, from west Ham in volunteers. You
(07:02):
go through spurts, you'll get a group of volunteers and
then you'll get lean with young you know, with New blood.
It's an ongoing seesaw.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Yeah, and according to the commissioner, could use a whole
lot more, could use a whole lot more bodies these says, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Oh absolutely, because you're a volunteer. There's people that have
daytime job.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Our daytime crew is an older crew, it's retired people.
It's a balancing act.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, I appreciate the insight and your dedication and your commitment.
My heart just goes out to this guy and to
his face. But you know what, he strikes me as
you wouldn't have it any other way. He was going
to show up at eighty eighty five if there was
a fire in the town he lived in, he was
going to be at it.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Oh yeah, No, it really becomes part of your makeup
and part of your blood because you get very connected
to the guys you're working with, sure and and and
you know their family. You watch their kids grow up,
you watch their kids get married, you watch their kids
(08:07):
have children. So it's it's it's a very it's it's
it's not a ninety five job. I mean, and I'm
not trying to take away from the paid guy.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Yeah, of course, of course, you know, but I know.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
It's to barrow off just a little bit. If you
take Sandy Hook guarantee, you of those firemen knew the
kids and knew the families.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
And I remember that at the time. Yeah, I remember
hearing that at the time.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Yeah, and you know we've had a a accident where
members kids knew the kids.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Oh yeah, I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
So it's when you have a small community like plain Plainville,
like Woodbridge, like Bethany, everybody knows everybody, and and when
you have a fatality, especially have a long time member,
it really hurts. It hurts deep. And and what Ocean
(09:19):
is gonna do is gonna shut down that truck.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, that's what That's what I was kind of dancing around,
if not coming right out and kind of saying, well.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
They're gonna shut it down, and them they're gonna find
out what failed. And and the problem with that is
now that fire department is down a big piece of apparatus. Yeah, yeah,
so it this this is gonna take a while. Well
and then like then, like you said, there's lossuits involved.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
Oh yeah, well I do it again. I appreciate your insight.
I've got to get run in here, though, But thanks
so much for taking the time to call in.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
More quick question what happened to your book?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Which one.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
I was listening to that I was actually going to
buy four of them and give them out his gift.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
I know, Man, the publisher got scared. That's that's that's
at the end of the day, the book is done.
I believe they got.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Scared too bad. Find another publisher.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yeah, a lot of it. Yeah, a lot of people
have said that to me. It's so unique. It's such
a regional title, though, But I do. I mean, I
have the entire manuscript to hell of a read too.
I'm really proud of it. But they did, they got
scared off.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
And I'm friends with people of Midge.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Oh yeah, yeah, I spoke with family members. I mean,
and that's the whole thing. I think. I to be
honest with you, I think I scared the publisher a
little bit too, that I knew as many people as
I did. Yeah, but I do. Uh, I appreciate I
(11:08):
appreciate you asking about.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
It, No, no problem. I'd love to hear that you're
you're getting a print. I even called up Arje Julia
and they told me there was a problem with a publisher.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Really, what did they say.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
I called up looking for it and they said they
it had They basically told me that there was an
issue with the publication.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Yeah, because I actually called them a couple of times
and in the people I spoke to how to research it.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Yeah, and the and the actual editor assigned to my title.
Uh has since got fired right after that too, yeah. Uh.
And I think it's because they think she she dropped
the ball, which she did. She she she created a
couple of obstacles. I believe she was a little bit
(11:59):
scared and the whole thing just fell apart. That happens,
but I was I was really frustrated. I put a
lot of work into that.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
So no, and I would stop working just to listen
to your your your fing Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Because I would start I was reading. Yeah, I was
reading that.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
I know.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
I started sharing them on the air. I'm glad to
hear you enjoyed those. Yeah. Maybe I will get back
to shopping that around. I appreciate you what you bringing
it up.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
Please do because you can put me down for four
you got it, man, I'll hold you to that, and
thank thanks again for your time. No problem, All right
to
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