On Monday 11/28/16 at 6:00 PM, I attended a talk hosted at the Groton City Bill Library by co-authors James L Streeter and William J. Tischer on their new book as listed above. The authors provided historical

overviews covering all of the emergency service organizations in the entire Town of Groton, which currently include 13 Fire Departments, three Police Departments, two Ambulance Associations, a Paramedic Service and a Dispatch Center.

Jim Streeter is a former Groton City Police Officer and Town Mayor who currently also serves as the Town Historian. Bill Tischer is a career firefighter who started as a 17 year old volunteer in Salem and Montville, finally serving and retiring as Captain of the Groton City Fire Department. They described the changes that have occurred in the fire services since 1900 through the 1940’s, a time when many volunteer departments operated more informally, at least by today’s standards. The volume of calls has increased dramatically, along with the hours of professional training. Gone are the days of “local business owners shutting their doors when the horn or siren sounded and then jumping into a fire truck, police car or ambulance” in order to respond to an alarm.

Their presentation, as well as the book itself, provided a visual history of each department, establishing  changes that occurred with the facilities and equipment over the years. The open discussion following the presentation provided the audience the opportunity to ask questions about the services as well as the overall shift, in some heavily commercial/industrial areas, from volunteer to paid personnel. It was also noted that there are separate, professional departments at the Navy Base, General Dynamics and Pfizer.

A formal book presentation will be conducted at the PAR 4 Restaurant at the Shennecosset Golf Club during a public safety gathering on Saturday December 10 from six to nine PM. I’m told there will be an admission charge of $20 which will include a beer tasting and large raffle with proceeds going to such organizations as the Bridgeport Burn Center and the Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services.

The book is published by Arcadia and is currently on sale (and signed by both authors) in Groton City at Buford’s Family Restaurant on Poquonnock Road and at Ken’s Tackle Shop on Thames Street, next to Paul’s Pasta. For me, it is a delight to see the book completed since I first discussed it with Jim Streeter back in 2008. Retirement is a blessing when there is finally time to tackle such a project….and the generosity of both authors donating their book royalties to the Salvation Army should be duly noted.