R-137 Page 1 of 1
2023
No. R-137. House concurrent resolution congratulating the Bennington Rural Fire Department on its 70th anniversary.
(H.C.R.111)
Offered by: Representatives Morrissey of Bennington, Carroll of Bennington, Corcoran of Bennington, and Whitman of Bennington Offered by: Senators Campion and Sears Whereas, in 1953, in recognition of the inadequate fire protection available in rural Bennington, the Bennington Pomona Grange spearheaded the establishment of the Bennington Rural Fire District, and T. Howard Mattison served as the first chief, and Whereas, by the conclusion of its first year of operation, 35 volunteer firefighters were able to respond to all requests for fire extinguishment, and Whereas, after three years of reliance on the fundraising efforts of a supportive auxiliary organization, the leadership of the Bennington Rural Fire District reorganized as
Bennington Fire District No. 1, serving all of rural Bennington and contracting with the Town of Woodford, and today, it is also known as the Bennington Rural Fire Department
(the Department), and Whereas, in 1959, the firefighters constructed the Department’s first firehouse on
Willow Road, which was expanded in 1976 and again in 1992, and the Department constructed additional firehouses, one in 1966 on Beech Street, and the second in 1969 at Fairdale Farms, a building that was replaced in 1985, and Whereas, on two occasions, members of the Bennington Rural Fire Department served as President of the Vermont State Firefighters’ Association—in 1985, Chief Edward A.
Haddad Jr., and in 2000, First Assistant Chief Kevin J. Goodhue—and also in 2000, the Association honored Chief Walt Sweet as its Chief of the Year, and Whereas, in 2023, the Department comprises five companies, each with its own officers,
and Chief Kenneth Goings, First Assistant Chief Steve Waters, and Second Assistant Chief Dustin Predel serve as this outstanding and reliable volunteer Department’s voter-elected officers, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly congratulates the Bennington Rural Fire Department on its
70th anniversary, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
the Bennington Rural Fire Department.
VT LEG #370767 v.1