Community Rallies Around Simsbury Firefighters Injured in Plane Crash

The Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company is channeling community support for two local firefighters who survived the early October plane crash that killed seven people and injured seven more.

The fire department posted on its website that it has set up a donation site to make sure that 48-year-old Joseph “JT” Huber and 54-year-old James Traficante are cared for.

Huber, a 15-year volunteer with the fire company, was admitted to the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital, with “severe burns to over 40% of his body," according to a post on the Connecticut Firefighters Charitable Foundation’s website.

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The fire department wouldn’t comment on the extent of Huber’s injuries, but said he remains in the hospital for treatment.

Traficante, who also suffered injuries, has been released from the hospital and is continuing to recuperate at home, the department said. Traficante is a five-year member of the fire department and also a chief master sergeant in the Connecticut National Guard.

The fire department set up the Simsbury Firefighters Charitable Fund so that the community can donate money to help support Huber’s and Traficante’s recoveries. The fund went live on Monday, according to Mike Brown, a member of the department’s Frank Bradley Memorial Fund Committee.

But even before the department set up the fund, community members had been reaching out offering support and asking how they can help, Brown said.

“Over the last few weeks, there has been an outpouring of support and requests to help,” the department wrote. The fund was “established to help with expenses that the two Simsbury Firefighters and their families may incur while recovering from their injuries.”

Timothy Gilbert, the chairman of the Frank Bradley Memorial Fund Committee, said that the donations to the firefighters will mainly go toward their living costs. For Huber especially, his injuries mean a lot of time out of work. Huber’s wife is also taking time off to be help with his recovery, Gilbert said.

“They’re definitely going to incur some costs — not only now but in the future — that this fund will offset,” Gilbert said. “With them being out of work, they’re going to need some assistance."

Both men suffered their injuries in the Oct. 2 crash of a World War II-era B-17 bomber, which was giving historical flight tours out of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.

Shortly after taking off, the plane’s pilots reported engine trouble and circled back to the airport for an emergency landing. But instead, the plane hit the ground in a fiery blaze, sending up black smoke that could be seen for miles.

The Guard said that Traficante used his military-issued, flame retardant flight gloves to open a hatch on the plane so that some of the passengers could escape.

The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the crash. A full investigation may take up to 18 months, but the board released a preliminary report last week.

“While we are thankful that our members are among the survivors of this terrible tragedy, our hearts go out to all the families of those that did not make it,” the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company wrote.

Those interested in supporting Huber and Traficante can send electronic donations to the Simsbury Firefighters Charitable Fund’s PayPal account, mail checks to the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company at 871 Hopmeadow St. or donate directly to the account at the Liberty Bank at 981 Hopmeadow St.

More information on the fund can be found at the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company’s website.

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