Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company Chief William Halstead has passed away.  After responding to a call on Friday evening of Friday, he returned to his home and became ill. Despite the efforts of paramedics and other emergency responders, Halstead passed shortly after the incident.   He joined Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue in January 1965, when he turned 16. He had served as chief since 1978.  The fire company will announce further details when available. Halstead was also Newtown's Director of Emergency Management, a post he had held since its creation.  He was also a long-serving Fire Marshal until his retirement in 2016.   Halstead was elected president of Connecticut State Firefighters Association in 2020. Prior to that he served as second vice president and then first vice president. He was inducted into CSFA's Hall of Fame in 2011.