About Us

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About Us

1911
The Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department was created in 1911 and was originally known as The Township of Caldwell Fire Department, not to be confused with the Caldwell Volunteer Fire Department. The original department roster consisted of about 20 loyal residents who used only water buckets and hand-held tools to do the job in what was known as a Bucket Brigade.

1912
The First Firehouse in the Township, located on Fairfield Road was built in 1912, on lands donated by J.W. DeBaun.

1915
In 1915, the building burned down, with the department helpless to battle the flames, because of the lack of necessary fire fighting equipment.

1924/1925
The Department assumed a somewhat inactive status until 1924, when a group headed by Andrew Shaw, reorganized and erected a new building in 1925 on the site of the old structure. Charter members of this group were: President, John Courter; Vice President, Fred P. Schaefer, Jr.;Secretary, Samuel S. Klein; Chief, Andrew Shaw; Asst. Chief, Ray E. Collerd; Foreman, Louis A. Schlapfer; Asst. Foreman, Albert Sisco, Sr.; Treasurer, Lloyd Van Ness; Trustees, Thomas Pier and James Wright; and members of the Township Committee. The newly formed Department derived its maintenance funds from Social Events and from solicitation of contributions, for at that time there was no affiliation with the governing body.

1927
In 1927, the Department made a concerted effort to purchase the Township's First Motorized Fire Truck, a 1927 Day-Elder Pumper. To house the engine, they constructed a small, 1 bay firehouse on Fairfield Road (Knight Electric). In order to finance its new building, a $1,500 mortgage was assumed. Since there were no fire hydrants in town at the time, firefighters had to locate a natural water source, such as a nearby stream or pond to draft water from. Depending on how far the water source was from the fire, the men would lay as much as 1000 feet of hose. Many fires in those days were brush fires, as Fairfield was not nearly as developed as it is today.

1928 & 1929
The years 1928 and 1929 were difficult ones for the Department as it sought to meet mortgage payments on the building and commitments on the truck equipment.

1930
In February 1930, the governing body of The Township of Caldwell purchased the 1927 Day-Elder truck from the Fire Department, for the sum of $6,700. Since 1930, the township has purchased all necessary equipment used by the Township of Caldwell Fire Department.

1948
In 1948, the old 1927 Day-Elder truck was retired and replaced by a new 1948 GMC Pumper, known as Engine A.

1952
In 1952, the Township purchased a second GMC 1,000 Gallon Pumper, known as Engine B. The Departments Two Engines were housed at the old town hall, which was at the location of the present municipal building and Firehouse, built in 1979 on Fairfield Road.

1961
In 1961, The Department celebrated its 50^th Anniversary.
The About Us page is often one of the most visited pages on a Web Site. This is because visitors to your site are often looking for information to assist them in deciding whether your site is credible before investing the time to further explore your site. An effective About Us page can distinguish your club or organizations from others. It builds credibility and trust by personalizing your organization.

The About Us page is a good place to include the history behind your organization. A little background information goes a long way in establishing confidence and trust in visitors to your site. It is important to keep this information clear and easy to understand. Some points you may want to include are:

How long has your organization been established?
What is the purpose of your organization?
Who are the people behind your organization?
What can your organization offer visitors to your site?

1964
In 1964, The Township of Fairfield was formed from Caldwell Township and The Fire Department changed its name to The Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department.
1964, also saw the acquisition of a FWD Four Wheel Drive 1000 GPM Pumper, designated “Engine 3”.

1970
By the Spring of 1970, construction on the present Firehouse No. 2, located on Plymouth Street, was completed. The department was responding to about 125 calls per year.

1974
Continuing through the rapid growth of the town and the Fire Department, March 1974 saw the addition of a new 1500 GPM Hahn Pumper, Engine 4 and a new Chief’s Car. The Department also began a campaign to promote Home Fire Alarms and Smoke Detectors in Residences, due to several bad fires.

1977
Three Years later, in September 1977, the nearly 30 year-old GMC Engines were retired and replaced with two new Twin Hahn 1500 GPM Custom Engines, Numbers 1 & 2, rounding out the total arsenal to 4 Modern and Efficient pieces of Apparatus.

1979
Construction was complete and a New Fire HQ at 230 Fairfield Road was dedicated.

1981
In 1981, the members of the Department designed and Constructed a new Firemen’s Recreation Hall on land adjacent to the Plymouth Street Firehouse. The Organization sold the Old Firehouse, which served them well as Firehouse and then Recreation Hall since 1925. Fairfield Fire Officials also purchased their first computer system for a “minimal” price of $1,700, designed to assist firefighters combat blazes in buildings containing hazardous materials by providing floor plans and lists of chemicals stored in the buildings. This made Fairfield one of the few Fire Departments in the State to have such a system.

1984
The Township Purchased a 1984 LTI 100’ Ladder Truck designated Ladder 5. This vehicle was added to the fleet in response to the rapid growth of larger office buildings and multi-floor hotels.

1994
After 30 years of dedicated service, The Old FWD Engine 3 was retired and replaced with a new Engine 3, a Pierce 2000 GPM Pumper, which represented the epitome of modern firefighting, with a fully-enclosed cab, up-to-date radio equipment and computerized pump controls.

1995
The Department Purchased a 1995 GMC Suburban Incident Command Vehicle, complete with Radio Equipment that enabled the Department to Directly Communicate with any of the surrounding Fire Departments, State Police, First Aid Squad, Paramedics and the NorthStar Medical Helicopter.

1997
Call volume has continued to rise, with the department responding to 386 Calls. Fire Department took Possession of two more new Pierce Fire Engines, replacing old Engines 1 & 2.

2001
In 2001, the Department Celebrated its 90 Year Anniversary. However, the happy mood was short-lived, due to the Terrorist Events of September 11th. The Fire Department responded to NYC on that fateful day.

2005
Today, the Department responds to over 425 calls per year, ranging from False Alarms to Structure Fires, Hazardous Material and Terrorist Incidents, Plane and Automobile Crashes and Industrial Accidents, as well as many others. Times have changed and Firefighters can no longer just train to fight fires. They must train to handle any incident that comes along. Today, the firefighters have better protection and better equipment to fight the fires than they did years ago, however the products of combustion have changed also, making the fires burn hotter and faster than ever before. The Department recently took possession of a Special Operations Trailer and a Utility Vehicle to be better equipped to handle any emergency. In the Spring of 2005, the Department will retire the old Ladder 5 and replace it with a new Pierce 100’ Aerial Tower to be called Ladder 1.

You may also want to include any formal recognition, awards, or endorsements that your organization has earned. This is the place in which your organization can stand out!

The images on the About Us page should include people. You may want to add photos of organization staff or members.

The About Us page should be clear and direct. It is recommended that you avoid long or complicated stories.