Captain Whitney C. Teehan Jr., age 66, succumbed from a heart attack on June 25, 2000 while on scene of a fire call at Electric Boat Corporation in Groton, Connecticut. Units of the City of Groton Eastern Point Fire Company No. 2 had responded to the report of a structure fire at 4:50 a.m. that was determined to be the result of an equipment malfunction. An active member of the volunteer department since he was 18 years old, he was recognized in 1959 for saving a child from a burning building on Branford Avenue. Whitney was employed by Electric Boat for 41 years prior to his retirement in 1993 as a senior design supervisor.

On September 22, 1997, Whitney responded with Eastern Point Fire Company to a reported car fire on Meech Avenue in the City. While actively extinguishing the fire, Whitney collapsed to the ground and suffered a heart attack on scene. Firefighters immediately began CPR and transmitted the call of “firefighter down”. Firefighter/EMT’s on duty at nearby Pfizer, Inc. heard the urgent call for help and responded with an automated external defibrillator (AED): a device which, at the time, most fire departments did not carry. A pulse was regained and Whitney was transported to the hospital where he had triple bypass surgery. Afterwards, he became instrumental in advocating for and securing funding, both public and private, for the purchase of eight AED’s to be placed in fire trucks, police vehicles and at the city hall, and he assisted in training first responders in the City on CPR and AED use.

Whitney was also a professional magician known as “Misto, Master of Magic” and “Clarence the Clown.” He was an honorary life member and past president of the New London Society of Magicians. He was a life member, treasurer, and former Exalted Ruler of the Groton Lodge of Elks. He had also served as the Elks district deputy in 1980. He was a member of the Marine Draftsman Association, the New London Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the Groton Senior Citizens. He was an honorary member of the Pioneer Hose Co. No. 1 and a life member of the Electric Boat Management Club.

After his first heart attack and subsequent return to active duty in 1997, he was quoted in a local newspaper article as saying, “It’s always been a privilege and a pride to volunteer my services to the city, and I’lI continue to do so as long as I can.”