By Kate J. Conde>

The new year brings about many new things for the Edgartown Firemen’s Association to celebrate, from a new officer and office space to new members and new faces. We welcomed our newest honorary member, Ted Morgan, who joined us for our first dinner of the new year. Mr. Morgan was awarded a certificate of appreciation from the association, as we acknowledge all the support he has offered over the decades. We are truly honored to have him join us. The head table would like to thank Albert and Kathy Lattanzi for donating our delicious Italian fare for our January dinner. All our members enjoyed meat and veggie lasagnas, pasta and meatballs, and Kara’s delicious salad.

Everyone is excited about the new Edgartown Fire Museum. If you haven’t been in the neighborhood lately, you might not have noticed the new foundation out back. The new addition is going to house many antique items, including our antique hand pumper. The hand pumper is currently on display at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum but will soon be moving down the street. We are very grateful to the museum for giving us this opportunity to display this classic piece in our new space. Every new project needs support. If you would like to make a contribution to the museum fund, please send donations to EFA, P.O. Box 737, Edgartown, MA 02539. You may also visit our new Web site at edgartownfiredepartment.com for updates, news and events.

The front office is also getting a new facelift, including nearly 100 new square feet! If you need to apply for a permit or visit the chiefs, please use our new public entrance located on the south side of the building, next to the police station. The new office hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Congratulations to Jake Sylvia, the new lieutenant of Engine Four. Lt. Sylvia earned his place next to Captain Gundersen after several years of hard work and dedication. This well-deserved appointment comes from a vacancy left by retired lieutenant James Klingensmith.

New faces, and potential future firefighters, joined our fire family as well. Firefighter Heather Jaglowski welcomed Jackson (Jax) Harper, weighing in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and measuring 20 inches. Paramedic Kelsey Forend-Healy and firefighter Tim Sheran welcomed Beckett Ambrose, weighing in at 6 pounds, 7 ounces, and measuring 18 inches. Congratulations and best wishes to everyone!

We even added a new trophy to our shelves: the Edgartown Firemen’s Association is the recent winner of the wing contest held at Sharky’s Cantina. Our delicious wing sauce was firefighter Matt Millman’s creation, and it won over hundreds of taste buds. If you would like to try our wings, just head down to Sharky’s and ask for them — they will be on the menu for a year!

We opened our meeting with a moment of silence for the late Corrine Hatt, who served over 20 years as an EMT under the volunteer system. President Kelly offered us a year in review, acknowledging our hard work on successful fundraisers such as our golf tournament and pancake breakfast. We hope that 2010 brings us more opportunity for community events. The last program on the agenda for 2009 was distributing our holiday stockings to the seniors in our community. After careful consideration to its contents, each senior received an emergency flashlight, files-of-life, sugar-free candy and fresh fruit. Over 150 stocking were delivered by our firefighters and EMTs to many grateful seniors. Many thanks to the staff at the Anchors for all their advice and support, and to Jesse at Shirley’s Hardware for getting us a great deal on all those flashlights!

Engine One welcomed back Peter Look after he spent six months in Brazil teaching English. Bem-vindo!

Deputy chief Schaeffer has been keeping everyone busy with a live burn on Chappaquiddick, a rescue drill at the jail, and many continuing education classes for emergency medical services personnel.

As an unknown author once said, “Hug a firefighter and feel warm all over.”