Bridgeport Fire Department Bridgeport Fire Department The Bridgeport Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Tracing its roots to 1796, the Bridgeport Fire Department protects Connecticut's largest city. Bridgeport's first step toward independence occurred when the Corporation of Newfield was formed in 1797 for the express purpose of forming a fire company. Through the years, the firefighters have continued to play a significant role in Bridgeport's history. In the mid-1800s, Bridgeport's first volunteer fire brigade hand pump was located at the foot of Wall St. near Water St., then was moved to Water St. and
Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport the home of the biggest community—about 100 people. On July 24, 1842, St. James the Apostle Church was dedicated by Bishop Fenwick at the corner of Washington Avenue and Arch Street in Bridgeport, which by then had a population of about 250 Catholics. The rector of the church was given responsibility for small Catholic communities of Derby and Norwalk. Catholics in Stamford, Greenwich and some other towns were ministered to by the Bridgeport rector and by Jesuit priests based at Fordham College in New York City. The Diocese of Hartford was split off from the Diocese of Boston (which had