LONG HILL'S VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS

IN ANY EMERGENCY CALL 911

Open burning of leaves is prohibited in Long Hill Township.

After a number of devastating fires in the early days of 1913, the citizens decided to form the Millington and Stirling fire companies.   In 2013, we celebrated 100 years of excellent service to the residents and businesses of Long Hill Township.  The celebration culminated with a town parade JUNE 15th, starting in Millington, traveling up Main Avenue ending at Central School.  

Please join us in congratulating the Long Hill Township Fire Department!

 

Long Hill Township contains a wide range of land uses - including light industry, heavily traveled roads, wooded tracts, swampland, waterways, hazardous material storage and transportation, railroads, shopping centers and residences. Each of these uses provides unique situations and hazards that the Fire Company must be equipped and trained to handle.

Long Hill Township is served by two volunteer fire companies. The Stirling Volunteer Fire Company Number 1 and the Millington Volunteer Fire Company each have their own pages. The Fire Companies answered 219 alarms in 2001.

Millington Fire Company responds to an alarm on Cross Hill Rd. 3/15/02

Together, the two companies operate 6 major fire and rescue vehicles, and have 45 active firefighters. Because of the selfless efforts of these volunteers, the Insurance Services Office (an industry accreditation service) has awarded Long Hill Township the highest rating available to a town without a paid fire department. This helps keep your homeowners and fire insurance rates low.

Both fire companies respond to all alarms at the schools, shopping centers and senior citizen's housing, and to all daytime, structure and brush fires. The Long Hill fire companies also have reciprocal mutual aid agreements with Warren, Berkeley Heights, Chatham Township, New Vernon, Bernards, Liberty Corner, Basking Ridge, and the Lyons Veterans Hospital fire companies.

The Long Hill Township government pays for new engines (since 1987), some capital improvements, Workmen's Compensation, and an annual contribution toward operating costs. The fire companies own their buildings, and pay for building insurance and utilities, uniforms and turnout gear, hoses and nozzles, tools, bulbs, cleaning and expendable supplies through generous donations from local residents and businesses. Please support their fund drives.

The Township owns the Fire Engines and has a program to own and replace the fire engines every 20-25 years. Because of the ages of 'the equipment at the beginning of the program in 1987, the purchase schedule is currently at a peak, with the Millington Fire Company getting a new engine in 2000, and the Stirling Fire Company getting new trucks in 1999 and 2001.

The Stirling siren is tested every day at noon, and the Millington firehouse siren is tested every day at 6:10 PM. At the same time, a test signal is sent to the pagers that the firemen carry. The siren and pager test are manually controlled by the Police Communications Operator. The pager frequency is shared by a number of fire companies in the region. If one of them is working on a fire at noon or at 6:10, then the test is delayed a few minutes until the channel is clear. Therefore, you can't set your watch by the siren.

PLEASE, take a few minutes to read the Fire Awareness Tips page. This knowledge could save your life.

A BLATANT RECRUITING MESSAGE

The fire companies ALWAYS need new members. A safety standard of the National Fire Protection Association requires that a minimum of five fire fighters must be present before anyone can enter a burning structure. The "2 in 2 out" rule says that firefighters can not enter a burning structure alone. They must always enter as a two-man team (2 IN). Then two additional fire fighters must be fully suited up and remain outside in case the first 2 need a rescue (2 OUT). The fifth man is the driver, who must remain with the engine at all times to operate the pumps and other equipment. Fewer of our fire fighters work in Long Hill Township during the day and are available to respond. And each company responds to about 6 calls per week. During the day, this puts a great strain on a small number of volunteers. Clearly, we welcome additional volunteers. If you would like to discuss joining the volunteer fire companies, please email the Millington or Stirling Fire Company and an officer will contact you.