Over the summer The Simsbury Fire District saw two of its longest serving employees retire.

Ron Kasulaitus, Maintenance Engineer, retired after 42 years of dedicated service to the Fire District.

Kevin Kowalski, Fire Marshal, Emergency Manager and Chief of Administration for the District,  retired after 32 years full time on top of 4 additional years as a part time Deputy Fire Marshal.

Both employees, often working together, worked through the entire rebuilding of the Fire District infrastructure with all 6 Fire Stations being rebuilt, including its communications systems.

Ron spent many hours each week ensuring the Fire Stations were prepared to meet the needs of the volunteers who served out of them in addition to keeping the outside grounds in great shape reflecting the Districts commitment to compliment the aesthetic value of the neighborhood that the fire station serves.

Ron will enjoy his retirement with his wife Mary camping with their new camper and working on his Maple Syrup Sugaring hobby as well as his various woodworking projects.

Kevin, in his multiple hat role, was instrumental in overseeing and coordinating the town's emergency response for years which included the 2011 October Snow Storm, hurricane Sandy, and other significant storm and flooding events.  He helped to develop safety plans for The Hartford Symphony Talcott Mountain Music Festival at the Performing Art Center as well as many large public gathering events in town.  He served on the Board of Selectman's Public Safety Subcommittee and provided mandatory training in Incident Command Operations to various town departments. He also was involved in ensuring fire safety standards were met for the substaintial housing and industry growth Simsbury has seen over the years.

Kevin will enjoy his retirement traveling with his wife Bobbie, camping, boating and snowmobiling.

Kevin will continue to serve the community as an active member of The Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company as Deputy Chief.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions normal retirement festivities were limited but  outside retirement "Coffee Breaks" were held to provide deserving well wishes.  

WSIM 103.5 FM is here to help the community by providing local information regarding the impact on the Coronavirus.

The Volunteer Staff of WSIM 103.5 FM is working to schedule regular updates as well as periodic recorded public service announcements during the day.

In addition to providing local announcements, WSIM 103.5 FM will continue to broadcast our commercial free music which can be a nice respite from the non-stop information broadcasted by the regional and national media.

You can use the link below to hear the radio station through our streaming service.

LIVE STREAMING RADIO FROM WSIM 103.5 STUDIO

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE SIMSBURY FIRE DISTRICT AND THE SIMSBURY VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY

Simsbury Fire District's Mike Berry, the Assistant Emergency Management Director, was sworn-in by Town Clerk Ericka Butler during a private (due to Covid-19 restrictions) ceremony as the new Emergency Management Director on July 1st, 2020.  Mike is  replacing Kevin Kowalski who is retiring next month having served as the town's Emergency Management Director for many years.  This recommended appointment by the Town Manager was approved by the Select Board during a recent June meeting.  Mike has served as the Assistant EMD under Kevin Kowalski for a few years and has been a key coordinator during the recent Covid-19 Pandemic in helping to secure supplies for the town's emergency services and businesses.

During the late morning of April 15th when Simsbury was in the middle of stay at home lock down due to the COVID-19 Pandemic  a fire started in the dryer in the  home of Richard, Trina and daughter Kate Cardinal.  The Volunteer Members of the Simsbury Fire Company responded which included members who are friends and neighbors of the Cardinal's.  The fire was quickly extinguished and fortunately was contained to the dryer.  The fire did fill the basement with smoke which was removed through the use of ventilation fans by the fire company.  The fighterfighters then removed the dryer from the basement to a safe outside location.  The Cardinal Family was very grateful for the prompt response by the SVFC and recently presented the Fire Company with 3 shopping bags full of non-perishable food items. Fire District President Gary Wilcox, Tower 12 Engineer Steve Petrella and Fire Chief Jim Baldis were on hand to accept the generous donation. 

Included was this letter from daughter Kate which truly says it all:

"Our family is extremely grateful to the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company for rushing to help us on April 15, 2020. In the middle of the pandemic and on my dad’s birthday, they removed a burning dryer from our basement. Because of their quick response and professional knowledge there was no damage to our home, our family dog, and ourselves. My mom, dad and I are especially grateful to our neighbor Gary Wilcox who was the first on the scene and has been a leader in the fire department for decades. I also want to personally thank Mr. Petrella who was my sixth grade science teacher at Central School and is a dedicated fire fighter. He was part of the amazing team that showed up to help us that day.  We are so thankful for all the kindness and support our fire department gives to Simsbury citizens.  With heartfelt gratitude. Kate Cardinal, Simsbury High School sophomore (daughter of Rich & Trina Cardinal)"