Hamilton May Unite its Five Fire Companies

Monday, September 22 2008 @ 01:37 am EDT

Contributed by: NBrining

From the Atlantic City Press Published: Sunday, September 21, 2008

By THOMAS BARLAS Staff Writer, 609-272-7201 Hamilton Township is one of a growing number of local municipalities studying whether to merge all of its volunteer fire departments into one entity. It's something that some municipalities in several southern New Jersey counties already have done in an effort to bring more uniformity - such as in the type of firefighting equipment purchased - and cost effectiveness to fire department operations.

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Ted Lowden, the Evesham Township, Burlington County, fire department chief overseeing the study in Hamilton Township, said the consolidations have worked well in other municipalities such as Evesham Township, Egg Harbor Township, Cherry Hill and Moorestown.

"The volunteers are still well-represented, and volunteers are recruited and sustained," Lowden said. "Yes, a large number of single (volunteer) fire departments that work independently still get the job done well, and such is the case in Hamilton Township. But there are always ways to do things better."

Hamilton Township Administrator Edward Sasdelli said the study simply will list the pros and cons of forming one fire department and that no decision on what to do will be made until Lowden's report is thoroughly vetted. Hamilton Township has five volunteer fire departments, including Mays Landing, Cologne, Laureldale, Mizpaw and Weymouth.

Weymouth Fire Chief John Carrigan said all five of Hamilton Township's fire chiefs have been consulted and are "on board" with the study.

Like many New Jersey municipalities, Hamilton Township depends on multiple volunteer fire departments to handle firefighting and emergency situations. While the fire departments run their own fundraising operations, they depend on municipal government to buy much of their equipment, including fire trucks.

Municipalities throughout New Jersey are trying to improve control over what they spend. Buying a fire truck or other equipment represents a significant tax-payer financed expenditure.

A recent report from the state Commission of Investigation, or SCI, says the purchase of firetrucks, some of the most expensive items municipal governments own, easily can overwhelm a small town's ability to ensure proper accountability and transparency.

The commission advised that the Department of Community Affairs should assume oversight and control of firetruck purchases, that firetruck companies be required to provide more detail on the apparatus, and that state and ethics laws be enhanced explicitly to cover local fire personnel to ward off collusion and conflicts of interest.

The SCI report found almost 60 of 80 firetruck purchases it looked at used proprietary firetruck information in requests for proposals. It singled out six such municipalities - including Galloway Township - that gave the winning bidder an early advantage.

Sasdelli said should Hamilton Township decide on one fire department, each of the existing volunteer fire departments would act as fire stations and have their own chiefs. Those departments would be overseen by a township-wide fire chief, he said.

Hamilton Township officials said the system could create uniformity in things such as equipment purchases, training, and recruitment. It might also create a better way to spread equipment throughout the township, they said.

Sasdelli said he expects the study to be done by the end of the year so any changes could be incorporated in the 2009 municipal budget.

E-mail Thomas Barlas: TBarlas@pressofac.com

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And does this study include evaluating the need for substations around Hamilton? The roads are so clogged with traffic, the firemen can't get to the firehouses to get the trucks out. Is this study locating Township-owned land to build a garage to house a firetruck in a neighborhood? We need an answer!!!!

Posted by: observer on Sun Sep 21, 2008, 8:25 PM

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