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FIRE DIVISION
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 CITY OF BURLINGTON FIRE DIVISION
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TITLE |
NAME |
TERM |
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Chief of the Fire Division |
Ron Devlin |
12/31/07 |
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Deputy Chief |
Howard Caruso |
12/31/07 |
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Battalion Chief |
Michael Tomaszewski |
12/31/07 |
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Battalion Chief |
Richard Spotts |
12/31/07 |
A PROUD HISTORY
Fire services have been provided in the City since New Jersey’s oldest Fire Company*, Endeavor, began operations in 1742. The Young America Fire Company was built in 1870’s and has been completely restored to that period. The Mitchell, Neptune, and Niagara also house antique fire apparatus that has been restored. Stop in and check it out.
A special thanks to Dan Birchall, author of the succinct digest of Burlington history http://www.08016.com/ for contributing the basis of these Fire Company reports.
HOMETOWN HEROES 
The most important component of any Fire Company is its trained Firemen. The most exceptional fireman is the Volunteer. Their dedication to the public safety comes at great personal cost, sometimes requiring the ultimate sacrifice. Your City’s Fire Companies are always in need of helpful, hardy individuals. Be a leader– volunteer. If you are interested in becoming a member of this dedicated force, go to a firehouse near you and fill out an Application, or ask questions. There is a job out there for everyone.
The Fire Division is linked to Burlington County's centralized emergency dispatch center, and fire emergencies may be reported by calling 9-1-1.
19 East Union Street
Burlington NJ 08016
TEL: 609-386-0430
FAX: 609-386-6588
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: CALL 911
NEW JERSEY’S FIRST FIRE COMPANY*
New Jersey’s oldest fire company, Endeavor is also one of the oldest in the United States, still bearing its original name. The company maintains a continuous record of its minutes, dating from its first meeting in 1795.
The Endeavor was originally composed entirely of men from the Society of Friends, including John Hoskins, Jr., Daniel Smith, Jr., and Robert Smith, Jr. Each member was required to pay one dollar upon joining, and to purchase a bucket bearing his name, at a cost of eight dollars. According to local lore, the “Quaker Boys” were also required to pass a morals test. Many prominent residents of the City have been members of the Endeavor over the years, including Samuel J. Gummere and members of the Woolman family.
In 1798, the Endeavor purchased their first engine at a cost of 150 pounds, and John Griscom built a home for it in front of the Friends Meeting House on High Street. Meetings of the Company were held in the Friends School House until 1801, then in the homes of members until 1874, when the old Union Street market house was purchased by the City and given to the Endeavor as a permanent home. The clock and spire which had stood on the City’s original town hall were placed atop the new fire house, located at 19 East Union Street. The Endeavor’s fire bell, donated in 1871, had formerly announced the arrival of trains at the Camden and Amboy Railroad depot.
Endeavor Fire Company #1 has been augmented in this century by the formation of the Ladies Auxiliary in 1929 and the Endeavor Emergency Squad in 1940.
Presently, the Endeavor Fire Company #1 operates:
19 East Union Street PO Box 1311
Burlington NJ 08016
See the Squad Members website at www.endeavorsquad.org
EMS Chief Jonathon Lord
TEL: 609-386-8899
endeavorsquadchief@comcast.net
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: CALL 911
The Endeavor Emergency Squad is the non-profit (IRS 501(c)3) organization providing emergency medical and rescue services to Burlington City and Burlington Township. We also extend assistance to our neighboring communities.
The Endeavor Emergency Squad is Burlington County’s busiest Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agency, and the number of requests that we received for emergency medical and rescue services continues to climb.
Our services include:
All of our activities utilitze both volunteers and employees, who proudly serve their communities every day.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
EMS are the personnel, vehicles, and equipment that respond to aid a sick or injured individual, or group of individuals in order to render emergency medical care and transportation to the appropriate local hospital.
Rescue Services
Rescue Services are the personnel, vehicles and equipment that responds in order to aid the EMS personnel in gaining access to an ill or injured individual, or group of individuals. Examples of these services include using our “Jaws of Life” to free a patient trapped inside of a car involved in an accident, or using our Dive Rescue (SCUBA) Team to locate and retrieve a patient who has gone missing in a lake or river.
Training
The Endeavor Emergency Squad staff all of our ambulances with at least two certified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). These EMTs have successfully completed a 110+ hour training program designed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, that provides them with the knowledge to treat and stabilize life threatening injuries, so that the patient can be transported to an appropriate medical facility.
In addition to EMTs, we also have staff trained in advanced rescue techniques which include:
Volunteer
The Endeavor Emergency Squad is always looking for volunteers. Anyone who is at least sixteen years old is welcome to apply as a volunteer. We provide all of the necessary training. If you are interested, please contact us at TEL. 609-386-8899 for a complete list of membership requirements.
Funding
Our primary source of funding is from the fees charged our patients (typically, to their health insurance) for providing them with medical care and transportation by ambulance. However, this fee for service provides less than 65 percent of our annual operating costs. The remain 35 percent comes from other sources, such as governmental grants and allocations, and corporate and private donations.
Equipment roster of the Endeavor Emergency Squad includes:
Burlington NJ 08016
609-386-0433
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: CALL 911
In 1870s Burlington, Federal Street was home to many shoemakers and shoe factories. Feeling the need for fire protection, they accepted a hose carriage as a gift from the Young America Fire Company, and housed it in a blacksmith’s shop, but did not organize an official fire company. In 1874, though, a fire struck the home and shop of a grocer, and though the shoemakers brought their hose carriage into action, the City's water system pressure was not sufficient to extinguish the flames.
The shoemakers decided that an organized fire company would be in their best interest, and formed the Mitchell Fire Company. Initially, the “Shoemaker’s Company”, as it was called, had only hand-pumped Franklin engines, but steam-powered LaFrance pumping engines were later brought into service. Mitchell’s original firehouse, built in 1875 and used for more than 100 years, still stands at the corner of Lawrence and Federal Streets, but the company is now located in more modern quarters at Mitchell and Federal Streets.
The Mitchell Ladies Auxiliary, founded in 1923 with a membership of 15, is the oldest auxiliary in the City. During the floods of 1955, the auxiliary provided food and beverages to all the City's firemen for four consecutive days and nights, earning a commendation from the Red Cross.
The Mitchell company currently operates:
Burlington NJ 08016
TEL: 609-386-0435
FAX: 609-386-1776
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: CALL 911
Neptune Hose Company #5 was organized on September 23, 1907, with a two-wheel hand-drawn hose carriage. Andrew H. McNeal, owner of the McNeal foundry in East Burlington (now known as U.S. Pipe) felt the need for fire protection at the East end of town. He donated land for the Company’s first building, “for the purpose of giving East Burlington its first defense from fire”, and many of the Company’s first members were employees of his foundry.
In 1916, the Company purchased a 1-ton Ford Model T truck for $599, which was made into a hose wagon. In 1929, the Company’s metal alarm gong was replaced with a siren- the second siren in the City. Three years later, City Council purchased a 1932 American La France pumper for the Company, equipped with a “fire foam system.” Fifteen years later, a 1947 Ward La France pumper was purchased by the Council.
On February 4, 1970, the Company took delivery of a Ward La France 1500 GPM pumper with an automatic foam system. The largest-capacity pumper in the County at that time, the new pumper was nicknamed “Super Pumper”.
The Company's new fire house, built 1979, houses:
Burlington NJ 08016
609-386-0434
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: CALL 911
Niagara Hose Company #6 was incorporated in 1913, the evolution of a group known as the “Sprinklers.” A plot of land at High and Dewey Streets was donated, and a house was built. The company acquired its first motorized apparatus in 1916, and served through three wars.
In 1962, the Company was required to relocate a short distance down High Street, to make way for highway construction. The move was accomplished smoothly, with groundbreaking taking place for the current firehouse while plans for the highway were still being drawn.
The company presently owns:
Burlington NJ 08016
TEL: 609-386-0432
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY: CALL 911
The Young America Hook and Ladder Company was organized in 1857, and bought its first truck for $75.00. Originally housed on East Pearl Street, the company merged in 1869 with the Franklin Fire Engine Company #3, which had been organized in 1852. The new company took the name Young America Fire Company #3, and in 1870 built and occupied its present firehouse at 21 East Broad Street.
In 1879, Young America purchased the bell, formerly hung in the belfry of St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, which warned of the British fleet’s approach in New York harbor during the Revolutionary War. Removed from the bell tower of the firehouse in 1956 for safety reasons, the bell now stands on the grounds of the Fire Engineers' office at High and Belmont Streets.
The firehouse was renovated and modernized since, to house more advanced equipment.
Now, the company has merged with Mitchell Co. #3. Intended use for the picturesque firehouse includes a Museum, plus meeting facilities for the Board of Fire Engineers, and Fire Association exempt meetings.
The company's current equipment roster includes:
* operating under same name
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City Hall 525 High St. Burlington NJ 08016 • TEL 609-386-0200 • www.BurlingtonNJ.us • Legal Notice • Privacy Policy • © 2008
