Jersey City's Fire Department celebrated its 150th anniversary in October 2021. It is New Jersey's second-largest fire department. Since the 9/11/2001 World Trade Center attack, the fire department's mission has expanded from traditional responsibilities for fire safety and prevention to medical emergencies, terrorist events, rescues, and vehicle accidents.
Colonial-era communities, like early Jersey City, relied on volunteers or "bucket brigade using river water" and well water (Lovero 35) to put out fires. Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor of New Netherland (1647-64), advocated for fire prevention and brought the use of fire buckets and fire wardens from Holland. The buckets were likely made of leather (it was lighter than wood) with woven handles and may have been "made by shoemakers or harnessmakers" (Robinson np).
In 1829, the Jersey City Board of Selectmen addressed citizen fears about recurring fires in the 1,025-member community. Under the 1820 city charter, the board didn't have the money or the means to buy a fire engine. One Selectman, Phineas C. Dummer, a founder of the Jersey Glass Co., proposed raising funds from the licensing of auctioneers. A subscription plan produced $839.50, a sum sufficient to purchase an $800 engine from Henry Ludlum of New York and 100 feet of hose costing $87.50. The fire engine was temporarily stored at the horse stable of McCutcheon's "Farmer's Hotel" at 42 York Street. Local business leaders, vested in the young city's safety, were among the subscribers. They included the Associates of the Jersey Company, Richard Varick, Cornelius Van Vorst, Hugh McCutcheon, John H. Dey, Isaac Edge, Sr, Thomas Dixon, and Phineas and George Dummer.
Meeting at McCutcheon's on September 21, 1829, thirty charter members found Volunteer Liberty Engine Company No. 1 at Grand and Montgomery streets. It moved to Sussex Street and, in 1840, to a building on Greene Street, north of Montgomery Street (Van Winkle 96).
Into the 1840s, the city was not authorized to levy assessments and limited the general tax levy to $300. The situation adversely affected fire safety measures and hindered the development of the city's water supply and policing. Some progress came with the appointment of the chief engineer or fire chief Samuel Bridgarton on February 5, 1835, by the city's Selectmen. In 1838, under the city's new charter of incorporation, Arreseoh Company No. 2 began with a loan from the city's first mayor Dudley S. Gregory, and the purchase of another Ludlum-built fire engine.
In 1846, a New Jersey legislative supplement to the city charter finally allowed for a public safety program. Under this general provision, the town committee expanded the fire department and purchased a fire engine from James Smith of New York for $750, a hose carriage for $55, and 400 feet of leather hose for $260. On June 23, 1847, Washington Fire Engine Company No. 4 was formed and petitioned the town committee for an engine house. After the town committee purchased a lot from John Arbuckle on 244 Bay Street off Newark Avenue in the Harsimus Cove neighborhood for $450, an engine house was constructed. The Renaissance revival-style firehouse eventually became the fire department's headquarters between 1871 and 1933. No longer used by the fire department, it became the home of the volunteer organization, the Gong Club, from 1957 to 2022.
A room in the Bay Street firehouse served as the town hall for Van Vorst Township (1841-51), which joined with the community of Jersey City in 1851. By 1855, Jersey City's fire department had 435 members in 11 companies for the city of 21,000. That same year, Dudley Gregory secured state approval for Exempt Firemen. The firemen had "exempt status" from the jury and military duties "except in case of war, invasion or insurrection" and other benefits, like exemption from certain property taxes for compensation of volunteer services. The Jersey City Association of Exempt Firemen, located at the former Bay Street headquarters, received its charter in 1909.
When the towns of Jersey City, Bergen, and Hudson City, with a population of 82,546, merged in June 1870, so did their fire departments under Fire Chief James Coyle. The merger resulted in the "modernization" of the Jersey City Fire Department and the first paid uniformed fire department under an 1871 state legislative act. It replaced the volunteer companies to safeguard the enlarged municipality; it had 14 engine companies and five hook and ladder companies. In addition to the full-time firefighters, a minimal paid part-time force called the "buffaloes" was hired to assist the fire company. By 1875, horse-drawn equipment replaced the hand-pulled steam engines of the 1850s. A public water supply system essential for firefighting began in 1851. At the turn of the 20th century, new firehouse construction, with fire poles, dormitories, and horse stables, introduced better fire safety and efficiency to the department.
Many turn-of-the-20th century firehouses, active and inactive, have been identified by the State Historic Preservation Office for potential nomination to the state and national registers. They were built during the city's growth spurt for the 100 full-time firefighters. Modernization features that contributed to the new construction were a public water supply system (1851), a paid fire department (1871), fire poles to expedite a response, and horse-drawn equipment replacing hand-pulled steam engines (1875). The city's 23 firehouses aimed to improve sanitary conditions for firefighters and horses in the bedrooms, bathrooms, and stables.
An example of new firehouse construction is Hook and Ladder No.3/Engine Co. No. 18 Firehouse (1896-2005) at 218 Central Avenue at Ferry Street on the former estate of Naomi Wright. When it was completed, The Evening Journal (Jersey City) called it "a model firehouse" and "the finest in the city" (5 December 1896). Jersey City architect Charles H. Detwiller designed the corner property. It has a brownstone-colored terra cotta panel on the second-floor facade with the engraving "HOOK & LADDER NO. 3" and decorative limestone and bluestone bands. Detwiller also designed the Women's Club (1910) and Grace P.E. Church (1913). In 2010/11, Brunelleschi Construction restored the Beaux-Arts/Renaissance Revival style firehouse.
Another period firehouse, erected in 1906, is Engine Company No. 1 at 155 Morgan Street., designed by Jersey City architect George W. Von Arx. In 1996, the actor and producer Queen Latifah purchased the neo-classical firehouse for her Flavor Unit Entertainment management and production company. In 2015, the property sold for $2.25 million and was protected as a local landmark by the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission.
In 1917, Director of Public Safety Frank Hague, under Mayor Mark Fagan, ruled over the fire and police departments unimpeded by civil service guidelines. Hague biographer Leonard Vernon explains, "Politics determined employment, assignments, and promotions that were determined by contributions to political parties." (Vernon 61) Vernon commends Hague for objecting to the storage of munitions on the Jersey City waterfront in violation of the city's fire code. The stockpiling resulted in massive damage from the Black Tom explosion on June 30, 1916, which drew attention to improving fire safety in the city.
In 1950, volunteers formed the non-profit Gong Club--a support group for fire and emergency personnel while performing their duties. Volunteers using Car 26, a truck they purchased in 2001, offer beverages, food, and clothing to fire victims and their families in emergencies. The canteen truck is housed at the former firehouse at 666 Summit Avenue. Donations and firefighters' voluntary payroll deductions support the club's ongoing work. The Gong Club is named for Joseph Lovero, a civilian fire department dispatcher who died after responding to the 9/11 attack at Ground Zero. The Jersey City Fireboat, Marine 1, at Liberty Landing Marina (Liberty State Park), is also named for Lovero.
As of 2013, forty-seven firefighters have died in the line of duty. James W. McCarthy of Engine Co. 3 was the first firefighter to die on July 14, 1872, when a wall collapsed at the Erie Railroad Repair Shop Building. He is buried at Bayview-New York Bay Cemetery.
Today, the Jersey City Fire Department has over 650 uniformed members, 50 civilian employees, and 26 fire companies.
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Horowitz, Marli. "Honoring First of 47 Fallen JC Firefighters." Jersey Journal 25 July 2013.
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Lovero, Joan Doherty. Hudson County: The Left Bank. Sun Valley, CA: American Historical Press, 1999.
Mc Clean, Alexander. History of Jersey City, NJ. Jersey City: Press of Jersey City Printing Co., 1875. p. 53.
"New Firehouse Truck No. 3 Will Soon Be a Handsome Quarters - A Symphony in Brick." The Evening Journal (Jersey City). 5 December 1896.
"The New Exempt Law for Firemen." New York Times 1 March 1855.
Paonessa, Laurie. "Hook and Ladder No. 3." Clio: Your Guide to History. February 23, 2021. Accessed February 2, 2022. https://theclio.com/entry/126714
"Protecting Jersey City for 150 Years." Jersey Journal 4 October 2021.
Shaw, Douglas V. The Making of the Immigrant City: Ethnic and Cultural Conflict in Jersey City. Jersey City, NJ: 1850-1877. Ph.D. University of Rochester, 1973.
Robinson, Walter F. Bayonne Centennial Revue, 1861-1961. Bayonne, NJ: Progress Printing Co., 1961.
Van Winkle, Daniel. History of the Municipalities of Hudson County, N.J., 1630-1923. Vol. 1. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1924: 96.
Wall, Ryan. "For 65 Years, Jersey City Gong Club Has Played Vital Role for Firefighters." Jersey Journal 9 September 2015.
