Albert Bassett

Call for Volunteers: New Canaan Fire Co. Looks To Build on Successful Recruiting Year

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Town resident Lauren Freeland, a 2011 New Canaan High School graduate who works in commercial vehicle sales, had thought of becoming a firefighter in her hometown prior to joining the ranks last year, though she hadn’t been sure a good opportunity would materialize. Freeland’s cousin is a firefighter in Bridgeport and at one point “it was brought up that I should try it,” she recalled Monday. “I had never really been in the right place and time in life yet.” Last summer, Freeland spotted signs in town that New Canaan Fire Company No. 1 was recruiting, so she emailed the volunteer organization and quickly heard back “and that at that point I was like, ‘Crap, I have to go,’ ” she recalled with a laugh.

Albert Bassett

New Canaan Boy, 6, Receives ‘Bravery Award’ from Fire Department

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About two months ago, 5-year-old New Canaan resident John Tashjian was sitting in a car seat while his father, Luke, drove them up Route 20 in Sturbridge, Mass. 

Suddenly, a motorist swerved into the oncoming traffic lane in the 50 mph zone and hit the Tashjians head-on. While his dad suffered a broken vertebrae, young John suffered a broken collarbone and his car seat harness, while it did its job, tore the skin off his shoulders. The pair “rolled backwards across two lanes of oncoming traffic without being t-boned on John and my side of the car,” Fire Commission Chair Jack Horner said, reading from a firsthand account from Luke Tashjian at Tuesday night’s regular meeting of the appointed body. “Our car rolled about 250 feet since it was slightly downhill to where it hit a parked car at the local towing company where they impound your car after an accident and stopped,” he continued at the meeting, held in Fire Department headquarters and attended by the Tashjian family. 

Incredibly, though his dad found himself unable to move, the little boy became “very calm and authoritative and told me to call 911,” Luke Tashjian said in the firsthand account. 

It continued:
“I was lying in a puddle and told him I didn’t have my cell phone. He told me to find my cell phone and call 911.

Around Town

New Canaan Remembers 9/11 in Solemn Ceremony on Town Hall Green

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New Canaan Fire Chief Albert Bassett was asked recently about the meaning of “Never Forget,” a phrase that came into common usage following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Though images of that day, when nearly 3,000 people died, including 412 first responders and three New Canaan men—Joe Coppo and Eamon McEneaney, both 46, and Brad Fetchet, 24—are just a click away online, the phrase itself “truly comes from the heart,” according to Bassett. “It comes from the soul,” he told more than 75 people gathered out front of Town Hall on a picture-perfect late summer day for New Canaan’s annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony. “To emergency services and military personnel, never forget the danger of the job that we do.

Albert Bassett

Promotions, Hiring Announced in New Canaan Police and Fire Departments

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The New Canaan Fire and Police Departments last week announced promotions and as well as a new hire among the town’s bravest and finest. The Police Commission during a special meeting Dec. 15 promoted Sgt. Louis Gannon to lieutenant, and promoted officer Thomas Callinan to sergeant, according to a press release issued by Police Chief Leon Krolikowski. The Fire Department promoted Michael Jackson to fire lieutenant, and also formally welcomed new full-time firefighter Chris Isaacs to the NCFD ranks, according to a press release issued by Interim Fire Chief Albe Bassett.

Albert Bassett

Town Appoints Albert Bassett as Interim Fire Chief

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The town last week appointed a longtime public safety official in the state and region as interim chief of the New Canaan Fire Department, months after he joined the agency. Albert “Albe” Bassett takes on the role in the wake of Fire Chief Jack Hennessey’s retirement, which was effective Nov. 1. “I think it’s a terrific thing for our community to have you step up and become our new fire chief,” Selectman Nick Williams said during the Nov. 1 regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“Kudos to Jack Hennessey,” Williams said.