A History of the High Bridge Fire Department
By
Russell Breese and Michael Lorenzo

Updated by Patricia Burd and Jeffrey Smith

On July 9, 1898 a large fire occurred in High Bridge which destroyed part of Main street.  Since there was no fire company in town, a fire company from Phillipsburg came down by train.

The following year, on August 25, 1899, a special meeting of the Borough Council was called by Mayor Moore and the following resolution was adopted:

Resolved:   That the Mayor and Council of the Borough of High Bridge deem it necessary to authorize the organization of a volunteer fire department for the Borough and be it further resolved that the Council of the Borough of High Bridge shall appoint a chief for the department who shall be responsible to the Council at all times for the careful operation of said department, and that said chief may recommend his proper assistants to the Council.

Said Council must confirm said appointments before assistants can act, and said chief and said assistants may recommend a sufficient force of active members to safely operate the work of extinguishing fires which may in the future occur.

In 1899, Liberty Hose Company was formed and known as Company No. 2.  In 1901 L.H. Taylor Hose Co was formed and was called Company No. 1.

Mr. Evan C. Wentzel was appointed fire chief for a term of one year. Mr. L.W. Bowers and Mr. C.H. Estes were appointed assistant chiefs.

The fire department was started with the purchase of two hose carriages at the cost of $73.00 each and 1000 ft. of hose at the cost of $.60 per foot.  Later they had a ladder wagon which was pulled by a team of horses owned by Mr. Winsell who lived on Charles Manning’s Farm.

Both companies were incorporated in 1902.  The High Bridge Relief Association was formed and incorporated in 1903.

The 1910 six alarm signals were listed.  A siren located at the Taylor Wharton plant, blown by steam, was used to call our firemen.  The number of blasts on the whistle gave the location of fires as follows:

The box alarms have become obsolete with the new technology and E 911 system.

In 1912 two large fires occurred on Main Street. The first was the Matt Apgar building which was occupied by Grondyke’s Clothing Store and Lewis Perry’s news stand with apartments on the second floor and lodge rooms on the third floor. The second was a corner store on Main Street opposite the Catholic Church which was destroyed along with the building next to it which was occupied by Truman Monn’s Print Shop.

In 1916 a large barn on Elm Street burned in which several mules and cows were destroyed. Due to weather and conditions under which this fire was fought, the Council purchased the first boots for the firemen. This barn was where the present A&B Tool Manufacturing Company is now located.

In 1917 it was determined that more equipment was needed to do a more proficient job. The first motor driven apparatus, which were two Kohlar trucks, were then purchased.

Since we had two companies in town, we were called many times to the surrounding areas outside the Borough to fight fires or assist other companies. We could assist and still not leave the town unprotected. This plan is still done today through what is known as mutual aid.

In 1925 Liberty Hose Company purchased a new Mack pumper. In 1927 a new Hahn pumper was received by L.H. Taylor Hose Company and the following year they put a new Hahn service truck in service.

In 1927, under Chief Lewis Apgar, the Ladies Auxiliary was organized with Mrs. Sara Belle Apgar as President.

In 1942 the Taylor Wharton Power House, which was located below Lake Solitude and used to store patterns, was destroyed by fire.

In 1944 the Martin Apgar building was destroyed on Christmas day. This building contained Dreshler’s Drug Store and apartments, and was located where Jimmy’s Barber Shop now stands.

In 1947, after 20 years of service, the Mack and Hahn pumpers were replaced with two American La France 500 GPM pumpers each with a 300 gallon booster tank supply of water.

At this time, due to alterations at the steel plant, the LH Taylor Fire House had to be moved. The old building was moved to the sight of the present building but was in such deplorable condition, the company decided to get rid of it and build a new one. Plans were made and presented to Council for their approval and aid.

By draining our treasury and with help from the Council, our new home was built and our new fire apparatus, which was being kept in a barn, was moved into its new home. We held our first meeting in September 1948.

In 1948 a Chevrolet emergency truck was purchased to carry excess equipment for the fire company and emergency squad. Our 45 foot extension ladder was mounted on top and such other items as oxygen, stretchers, first aid supplies, scott air packs, 1500 watt generator, flood lights, and portable pump were mounted as well.

In 1949 the Waters Building had considerable fire damage. In 1950, just as firemen were getting off a bus from seeing a ball game, the alarm went off calling them to Taylor Wharton Iron and Steel Company. This fire caused considerable damage due to the fire melting tar from the corrugated roof. In 1954 the Waters Building again had considerable damage but the fire was stopped before any other building was involved. In 1958 the Waters Building burned again. This time, however, it proved too much and even with the help from surrounding fire companies, it was completely destroyed along with the Pioneer Market. This building stood where the present dry cleaners was located.

In 1960, the companies purchased and installed radios in their apparatus. The base station and tower, which was purchased by the Borough, was installed at the LH Taylor Fire House.

Liberty Hose Company was located on Main Street in a building later known as the Waters Building.  It then moved to the Borough Hall when the Borough purchased the present town hall building. It was located where the present library is and the room now used as the Court Room was their meeting room. In 1962 they decided to have their own building. Since the branch track of the Central Railroad split the town, and trains sometimes hindered equipment from getting to the North side of the tracks. The building was dedicated on May 11, 1963. It had two bays for apparatus, a meeting room, a kitchen and a recreation room.

Due to the increase in equipment and the expansion of the emergency squad, the need for larger or new quarters was required.  Therefore, in 1963 it was decided to enlarge the LH Taylor Hose Company building by adding two bays.

In 1963 a tank truck was donated by CK Hoffman, a local oil dealer.  This truck had a 1500 gallon tank which gave us a supply of water which served us well in fighting grass fires, etc., when a supply of water was scarce. In 1968 LH Taylor Hose Company received a new American LaFrance 750 GPM pumper to replace their 1947 apparatus. In 1969 our 1948 service truck was replaced by a new GMC van. In 1971 Liberty Hose Company received a new American LaFrance 1000 GPM pumper.

Since the 45 foot extension ladder could not be mounted on the van service truck, it was decided to retain Liberty’s old truck. This truck was altered to carry the ladder and a larger tank was added to increase our water supply.

In 1988 our 1968 American LaFrance engine was refurbished and is still in service today. Our 1985 Hahn engine is being updated at this time and we are looking forward to its return in August. We have had five pieces of apparatus added to our department. A 1985 Hahn engine, 1985 GMC Service unit, 1994 American LaFrance Ladder Truck, 1995 GMC Suburban Command Unit and a 1997 GMC Brush Truck. Numerous new tools and equipment have been purchased through the years in order to better serve the Borough of High Bridge with countless hours of training to go with them. Our training consist of the basic fundamentals of fire fighting to thet actual hands on of confined space rescue, auto extraction, water rescue to live fire training. Those are just a few of the many training evolutions we perform to keep our skills up to date.

Until 1991 the High Bridge Fire department ran under two companies, Liberty Hose Company and LH Taylor Hose Company. During that year the two companies merged into one department. We are now housed in the LH Taylor Hose Company fire house on Maryland Avenue. Last year with the efforts of the borough and fire department many upgrades have been made. The building in now ADA compliant. Many of the members spent many hours in completing the renovations on the fire house. We are proud of the outcome and the work we have accomplished. The fire department has always been active in Borough affairs and have helped in any way possible. For years we sponsored the annual Flag Day Parade. During Fire Prevention Week a program is set up so that all children know the danger of fire and its preventions.

A lot of the credit for the growth of the fire department goes to our good past exempt firemen. A fireman must know the operation of the equipment and performs at least 60% of the required activities per year for a period of seven years. Over the years there have been more than 125 members who have earned their exemptions.

Without these dedicated people the companies would not be effective and efficient volunteer fire fighting units that we are.

The chiefs of the department from its start to present time are as follows and are listed in the order in which they served:

We sincerely hope the future will continue to bring us personnel with the quality of past and present firefighters so as to continue the service we have rendered to our community in the past, and we hope that the residents of the Borough of High Bridge will continue to be proud of their fire department.

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