Wanamassa firefighters and Hose-Laying Champions pose in
front of the first Wanamassa Fire House with their first motorized
pumper, a 60-horsepower Simplex, 1928.
Exhibit opening Sunday, October 24
Wanamassa Fire Company celebrates 100 years
A new exhibit opens in the Our Town Gallery of the Eden Woolley House, Sunday, October 24. “100 Years of Firefighting: The Story of the Wanamassa Fire Company” celebrates a century of neighbors responding to the call to save the lives and properties of neighbors.
The Company’s vintage fire engine will be on hand. The public is invited.
Fire was an ever-present threat to life and property
When 24 men gathered in 1921 to form the Wanamasssa Fire Company, Wanamassa was a sparsely developed, residential section of Ocean Township where commerce had been discouraged and stores were just beginning to appear.
In this rustic community, as elsewhere, fire ranked near the top of the list of threats to life and property. Most homes were built of wood. Open flames for cooking and even heating were common. Water supplies and equipment to fight fires were scarce. Fires were in the headlines: Large areas of major cities (Boston, Chicago, and Baltimore) had burned to the ground just decades before.
Neighbors organized to provide protection
As early as 1910, residents of Wanamassa organized to protect against fire. In February of that year, volunteers formed the Iona Park (a section of Wanamasssa) Fire Company, an unofficial organization that housed its single piece of equipment—a hand-drawn chemical unit donated by the Spring Lake Fire Company— in the garage of member Joseph Smith.
As the community grew, the men of the Iona Company realized more was needed. In the spring of 1921, the volunteers formed the Wanamassa Fire Company, the first step toward the official incorporation that took place the next year.
The Township recognized the new fire company and created Fire District 2. (Oakhurst Fire District 1 dated from 1913.) In February 1922, Wanamassa voters elected their first fire commissioners and passed their first fire budget ($3,000).
The fire company changes with the times
Among new fire company’s first orders of business was the acquisition of a motorized pumper and a place to house it. (They were about to outgrow Joseph Smith’s garage!) They built a small two-bay structure on two adjacent lots on the corner of Garvin and Laurel Avenues.
An unwelcome surprise came in 1927 when the fire company volunteers learned they did not hold title to the land. The news came at the same time the Township expanded the boundaries of Fire District 2. New equipment—and a new firehouse—were in order.
Construction began at the NW corner of Sunset and Wickapecko Avenues. The volunteer firefighters did most of the work, and in February 1928, the new firehouse opened, on time and under budget ($30,000).
In 1929, a 6-year-old boy drowned in Deal Lake. The tragedy spurred the Wanamassa Fire Company to organize the Wanamassa First Aid Squad, operating within the Fire Company.
Today
By 1999, new fire service regulations required equipment that could not be accommodated in the 1928 fire house. In 2001, the company moved into new facilities across the street. Today, President Patrick Barrett and Chief Nicholas Dowling oversee 32 active volunteer fighter fighters and 8 volunteer fire police (including 2 women).
The story of the Wanamassa Fire Company is one of community service and dedication. Visit the new exhibit to learn more.