TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J.—As officials in the Township of Washington mull an overhaul of the firehouse that would see it combined with an ambulance corps headquarters [“Hearing on $6M (or more) firehouse upgrade set for July 15”] many might not know that the current two-story firehouse on Washington Avenue was not the township’s first.
The original fire station, a rather humble affair, was in a small wooden building almost exactly across Washington Avenue from the present location. It can be seen behind the men in the photo above dated to 1938.
The township began the year 1934 with no fire department, instead relying on Westwood to provide fire protection. By that March there were two departments, each vying for official recognition.
With the taxpayers weary of paying Westwood for fire service, a group of men met at the home of former Mayor John Ruddell early in 1934 and formed a volunteer group to fight township fires. The group elected a president, Eugene Hall, and vice president, Timothy Randle.
A March 9, 1934 article in the Westwood Chronicle reports that Ruddell was unhappy with Hall’s election and, along with several followers, seceded to form a separate fire company. In that way, the township went from zero to two fire departments within a few months.
It was up to the Township Committee to select an official department, and this proved to be the source of a heated controversy that lasted for years. Finally, in April of 1938, the committeemen selected Hall’s group as the township’s official firefighting entity and contracted to pay $500 annually for equipment needs.
In 1938 the men had two pieces of apparatus: a hose truck and a chemical truck. These can be seen in the photo above, although they are partially blocked by the men in the front row.
The equipment was stored in a small frame building on Washington Avenue—across the street from the present firehouse—that belonged to horticulturist Joseph Beuerlein.
The Beuerlein brothers did a massive greenhouse business on more than 50 acres along Pascack Road, in the area of present-day Amherst Drive. Producing more than 300,000 cut flowers annually at its height, the business became internationally known as the top grower and supplier of carnations in the U.S. and Europe. Joseph Beuerlein was a member of the fire department.
The little wooden building served until 1951, when the present firehouse was built. Originally a single-story building with three truck bays, a second floor and two additional truck bays were added in 1965.
The original firehouse, which newspapers described as a “vacant barn,” was targeted twice by arsonists in one month in the summer of 1963. The fires were put out each time. The old structure was later torn down.