Asst. Chief Retires after 36 Years

Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Marshal Lee Cooke will retire from the Milford Fire Department after 36 years of service with the City on May 30. Chief Cooke began his career as a volunteer firefighter at age 18 and joined the ranks of the Milford Fire Department at age 22 in 1973. He was promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief in 1997. Serving as the City's Fire Marshal for the past 11 years, Chief Cooke has been involved in countless fire investigations and also served on committees that develop fire safety and fire prevention codes statewide. He also serves now as first vice-president of the Connecticut Fire Marshals Association.

While Chief Cooke said he will not miss the 3 a.m. wake up calls from dispatch, he said that he will miss interacting with the public and co-workers. And even though some of the investigations were difficult, Cooke said it was "still fulfilling to be able to solve that riddle as to how a fire occurred."

Assistant Chief of Operations Daniel Johnson will take Cooke's place as the department's second in command and the City's Fire Marshal. "I've respected Lee a long time, he's a great guy", said Johnson.

Cooke is looking forward to spending his retirement traveling with his wife D.J. He also plans on doing some consulting work on building design and fire codes. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Chief Cooke for his dedicated service to the City of Milford. We wish him all the best in his retirement.

Tractor Trailer Fire Closes I-95

Milford Fire Department units responded to a tractor trailer fire on I-95 Northbound in the area of Exit 35 around 12:30pm today. Units arriving on scene found a tractor trailer truck with heavy fire showing from the cab area and extending to the cargo section of the truck. The truck was reported to be carrying auto parts, including car batteries, antifreeze, and other flammable and hazardous substances. Additional units were requested to the scene, including the Milford Fire Hazardous Materials team and the Department of Environmental Protection.

I-95 was shut down in both directions for a short time while units operated to bring the fire under control. The southbound lanes were reopened shortly after the fire was brought under control, however the northbound lanes remained closed for sometime while crews continued to operate.

"This was a two truck collision that ruptured the diesel saddle tank and started a fire, " Milford Fire Department Capt. Christopher Zak said. Fire crews were able to build dikes to divert and prevent any further diesel fuel from entering nearby storm drains. Representatives from DEP determined through testing that the water had diluted the products involved in the fire and no environmental impact was expected. "There were no injuries to any firefighters or occupants during this incident", Zak added.

New & Improved Website

Be sure to check out the New & Improved Milford Professional Telecommunicators Website.

Our entire webpage has been redesigned with a fresh new look.
Be sure to check it out today!

http://www.local4260.com

Milford to Regulate Open Burning

Outdoor fire pits, chimineas, bonfires and wood furnaces are now regulated by the Milford Fire Department. The Board of Aldermen approved an ordinance Monday night that grants firefighters jurisdiction to extinguish unsafe and nuisance open burning.

Fire Chief Louis LaVecchia told the Board of Alderman that without this ordinance, the fire department did not have the jurisdiction necessary to require people to extinguish fires that were deemed to be unsafe or a public nuisance. “This requires them to do it,” said LaVecchia of extinguishing the fire. “Without this, we can’t stop it.”

Fire Marshal Lee Cooke said the department has no interest in regulating legal bonfires, camp fires or cookouts. Any fire less than 3 feet in height and diameter is allowed, unless it’s deemed to pose a nuisance to the public. A first violation of the new ordinance will result in a warning, but each subsequent violation will result in a $25 fine. Cooke said the department receives a couple of complaints of open fires per month.