Community News

When the fire alarm goes off, it sets in motion well-rehearsed procedures designed to prevent loss of life and property. But how do companies handle major conflagrations such as the fire at the Langendoerfer home that are beyond the capacity of one company to control?

Sunday’s fire was a textbook illustration of mutual aid and coordinated response.

“All incidents start and end local,” said Jon Barbagallo, public information officer for the Norfolk Volunteer Fire Department. “The first officer on the scene makes the determination based on necessity. Sunday morning’s fire started with the Norfolk fire department and ambulance, but active structure fires automatically cue Litchfield Dispatch to send mutual aid.” 

“Sunday’s fire was an immediate second alarm,” Barbagallo said. “It wasn’t necessarily equipment that was needed—what we requested was a manpower strike team. We needed interior firefighters for crew relief, so they brought in Thomaston, Watertown, Harwinton and Woodbury. It was the biggest response we have had since last November’s gas spill.”

The strike team gathered at the Drakeville Fire House in Torrington and responded to Norfolk from there. Barbagallo said there were probably 50 active firefighters on the scene Sunday night.

The regional fire departments have developed plans for mutual aid and Litchfield Dispatch knows which resources to dispatch and in which order. Practices are held throughout the year to give firefighters experience in responding to a scene. 

County coordinators add to the organization of services. “County coordinators assist the incident commander with shortfalls,” said Barbagallo. “They collect ID tags, help with the staging area, keeping track of what equipment is where, who can come to the scene and who will back up other companies by manning their firehouses. Coordinators free the incident commander up when you have a flood of people coming in.”

The county coordinators and incident commander use special command boards that were purchased through regional funds and that are scattered around the county—Norfolk has one in its firehouse.

The firefighters were called to Langendoerfer residence at 3:48 a.m. with many leaving the scene by mid-morning. But the work was not yet over. All the equipment had to be cleaned, dried and returned to the fire trucks in readiness for another call.

“That wasn’t complete until Monday night,” Barbagallo said. “That’s the advantage of having multiple trucks—for a day our backup truck was the lead truck so there was no reduction in service.”

Norfolk does not own a ladder truck, the most expensive piece of equipment, but Barbagallo said there are four in neighboring towns that can come to a scene. 

The Norfolk Community Association, a non-profit group dedicated to beautifying Norfolk’s common areas, will unveil its first installation for a proposed sculpture trail Saturday, September 2, at 2:00 p.m. in Robertson Plaza.

“Many of the projects we do are restorations of existing monuments,” said NCA Co-President Doreen Kelly, “but Norfolk is challenging because it is so divided by Route 44. We thought a sculpture trail could join the different parts of town.”

They approached Jon Riedeman, who specializes in wildlife sculptures, to create their first original sculpture, “Owl of Good Fortune.” 

“We decided we wanted an owl,” Kelly said. “Owls are indigenous to Norfolk—this one is a great horned owl—and the sculpture will sit on the plaza with a view of City Meadow and Haystack Mountain where they live. We wanted the first sculpture to be placed where it will be very visible.”

It took more than a year to complete the sculpture, which is cast in bronze and mounted on a granite pedestal.

Kelly said the NCA hopes to install one new sculpture every year, funded through private donations and grants. “If our wish could come true, we would have many. I would say there will be at least 10 over a very long period of time. We’ve had a lot of public interest in this project. We consider this as a way to re-enforce Norfolk’s identity.”

Walter Godlewski, NCA treasurer and co-chairman of the sculpture initiative, said Norfolk has a rich artistic history and is home to several significant monuments, many of which the NCA has worked to restore in the past few years. “While we will continue our preservation and beautification efforts, our latest project provides an exciting additional focus for the organization,” he said.

The Norfolk Land Trust is encouraging residents to get outside and enjoy summer in the South Norfolk Woodlands. There is one trail open, an easy to moderate 2.8 mile trail (out and back). It winds through a deciduous and coniferous forest to a glacial erratic.

There is also a short walk to a small pond and future bird blind. This 235-acre preserve of forest, swamp and wetland was purchased in 2022. The trail begins at a driveway with parking at 220 Bruey Road, 4.1 miles from Village Green via Route 272 South, Winchester Road and Bruey Road.

Paving on Laurel Way has been completed this week and the road will be open only for local traffic for two weeks. Three-axle trucks and larger must use alternate routes.

The DOT and O&G construction will be paving Route 44 in the area of the gas spill within the next week. The short section will be milled and then resurfaced. Motorists should expect delays.

The Norfolk Conservation Commission is promoting the new Natural Resource Inventory this weekend at the Hub and Farmers Market.

The 159-page book contains lists, charts, maps and tidbits about the town. Printed copies can be purchased at the Hub for $30 (cash or check only) Saturday and Sunday during Weekend in Norfolk. Checks should be made out to Norfolk Conservation Commission. Supplies are limited.

After WIN weekend, the NRI can be purchased at the Town Clerk’s office. Alternately, a PDF can be downloaded for free.

Firmer damage figures are becoming known stemming from the July flash floods in South Norfolk. First Selectman Matt Riiska said Thursday that he would submit an application for federal emergency relief Friday, although he cautioned there are still more expenses to be counted.

“There is a lot of paperwork involved,” he said, “but it appears that the cost of just roads, without any bridges included, is $600,000. The bridges will add another $3.5 million-plus, so the total is more than $4 million.”

Riiska reported last week that no declaration of emergency has been declared by the state. The state must document damages in excess of $6 million dollars to declare an emergency. “With the damage in the towns around, it could easily get over $6 million and we will go from there,” he said.

He has talked with engineers about preliminary plans for local bridges so that he can get in line for state and federal funding and is hopeful that the bridges will qualify for federal assistance, which reimburses 80 percent of the cost. The state shares 50 percent of the cost.

“My job is to find the other 20 percent,” Riiska said. “Given the circumstances, it would seem like the state and feds have to come with a greater portion of the costs—we can’t pay for these bridges with all the other things that are going on.”

He said that he must have costs so he can get the work qualified through the state DOT. “Once they say okay, then we can go to engineering, which will take several months. We have to make sure to get the survey work, boring and drilling done before winter. The plan would be to go to bid early in the spring.” 

The United Church of Christ is offering all youth in Grades 6-12 an opportunity to engage in inservice projects in Norfolk and beyond. A first meeting has been set for Sunday, August 27, at 4:00 p.m. Pastor Erick Olsen said the group will gather about once a month to undertake service projects throughout the Northwest Corner, to enjoy some food and have a great time.

Specific location and plans are still being worked out. Those interested should email or text  reverendole@gmail.com or call 860-303-0910.

The town is making “excellent headway” on restoring washed-out roads following the flash floods that swept through South Norfolk in mid-July, according to First Selectman Matt Riiska. “But bridges are another thing,” he continued. 

He said the state has hired a contractor to clear away the debris of the washed-out bridge on Route 272 but he has yet to hear what the DOT’s plans are for its replacement.

“Our local bridges will be a long haul,” he said, predicting that it will cost about $5 million to restore the washed-out crossings. “We have an engineer to compile the preliminary information so we can get funding for it,” he said. “We’re putting information together for FEMA but so far the State has not issued an emergency declaration.”

He believes that such a declaration is necessary to qualify for FEMA funding. The state has to have $6 million in losses statewide and Litchfield County would have to have at least $840,000. “There should be no problem in documenting the losses,” he said. “I know farmers in the Connecticut River Valley are really hurting and Norfolk will be in the $5 million range without considering Route 272, so we’ll easily be near $6 million. We’ll collect all the paperwork and see what happens.”

In the short term, the funds for repairs will be taken from capital reserves. “We need to replenish that for other things,” he said. “If the FEMA money is there and we deserve the money, we should get the money. We have the ear of [state Rep.] Maria Horn, [state Sen.] Lisa Seminara, [Sen.] Dick Blumenthal and the Governor, but we might have to play the sympathy card.”

He said the River Place bridge, which ran into an unexpected snag during a planned replacement last year, may be nearing the point where work can resume. While work was progressing, workers found that the north wall of the bridge was not on a solid footing and had to be replaced. “They had to re-engineer it,” Riiska said, “and the DOT was supposed to approve the plans by the end of July.”

On a happier note, he said the town has received its state reimbursement for work done last year on Mountain Road bridge. 

First Selectman Matt Riiska hopes to have another gas spill informational meeting on Tuesday, August 8. He said work continues on Maple Avenue and is going well.

“We had a really good meeting with everyone last week, he said. “Everyone has worked together cooperatively. Sometimes it’s slow, but it’s slow for a number of reasons. They are excavating 12 to 14 feet deep to remove the contaminated soil. The sewer and water lines are only five or six feet deep and you can’t have them just hanging there.”

Work on the Haystack Woods affordable housing development was delayed this summer because of the need for blasting to allow construction of the road and infrastructure. Permission to do the blasting was recently secured from the Planning and Zoning Commission.

“They are going to do some minor blasting tomorrow [Friday],” said First Selectman Matt Riiska. “They are setting up their monitoring system to make sure it won’t do any damage to the stone wall or anything else. It’s not Wile E. Coyote type of blasting. People would have to put their ear to the ground and then wonder if it was a truck going by to hear it.”

The Foundation for Norfolk Living, which has planned and is executing the project, hopes to get the road and any trenching to the house sites in before winter. “They want to get the binder course down on the road this fall and then start building in the spring,” said Riiska.