On April 17, 1907 the Point Pleasant and Bay Head Fire
Company was incorporated. This was one year
after the largest fire the town had seen destroyed all the buildings from the corner of
Bay and Laurel Avenues to Arnold Avenue.
The first Chief of the Company was George Osborn who was
elected in 1908 followed by Chief Theodore Pearce. The
first official purchase of the Fire Company was 500 feet of hose and a Hose Wagon to carry
it. This apparatus was housed in a small
wooden structure on the corner of Bay and Laurel Avenues.
The Hose Wagon and other equipment were pulled to the fire scene by the
delivery van and a horse belonging to Joseph Vetrini, a member who owned a grocery store
on the present site of the Leader Building. Some
time later, the first Fire Truck was hand made by John Pfiefer who constructed the body
over the frame of an old Pierce-Arrow. The
coverage area during these early days included the Herbertsville, Bay Head, and West Point
Pleasant as well as points up to an hour away.
In 1918, a local Real Estate Broker by the name of
Joseph Moran donated a Ford Model “T” Chemical Engine to the
company. This apparatus had no pump but
instead relied on a chemical reaction between baking soda and sulfuric acid to produce
carbon dioxide gas with enough pressure to send the water through the hose and out the
nozzle. The company changed its name at this
point to the Moran Engine Company in his honor.
In the early 1920’s, the small wooden firehouse was
replaced by a larger building on the same location. It
was a two-story structure, which could accommodate three pieces of apparatus. The building is still in existence as the Bay
Avenue Professional Building.
The late 1920’s saw the arrival of another piece of
apparatus in the form of a Hale Pumper with a 400-gallon tank. It is referred to as a 1929 model but it is
mentioned in company records in 1927. This
apparatus evidently replaced a truck referred to as the “Republic” in company
records. The “Republic” may have
been the original home made truck. The “Republic”
had its firefighting body removed and was sold.
During 1927, rules were set in place between the two fire companies concerning the election of a Chief of the Department. The rules were as follows:
1.
The position of Chief was to be held for
a period of 3 years
2.
The applicant must have been a resident
for at least 1 year prior to the election.
3.
The election was to be held in the
Council chambers on the third Thursday of December from 7 to 9 P.M.
4.
A new election could be called for at
any time by a petition if signed by members of each Fire Company.
5.
Chief was responsible for calling a
joint meeting between the two companies twice a year.
6.
Each company to elect a Deputy Chief.
1927 was also the year in which a member referred to as
Mr. Yarrow was instructed to look into forming a Ladies Auxiliary for the company with his
wife’s help. Apparently, by late 1927,
early 1928 this group came into being.
Funds during the 1920’s must have very scarce. For example in December of 1927, the purchase of hose had to be put off until the following year. To make up for this short fall a number of fundraisers were conducted. This included a 50/50 Grove Theater Motion Picture Benefit, which was held in May of 1929.
A Ward LaFrance Ladder Truck Arrived in 1939. This truck did not have an aerial ladder but
instead relied on ground ladders, which had to be put in place, and manually raised. This truck was extremely long and reportedly was
very difficult to turn, as it did not have power steering.
The passenger frequently had to help the driver turn the wheel when exiting
the firehouse onto Bay Avenue.
Starting in 1941 the Fire Company started looking into
replacing the Hale Pumper. A
proposal was received from the Ward LaFrance Truck Company of Elmira, NY. This called for a four- door enclosed cab 1000 GPM
Pumper. For whatever reason, perhaps due to
wartime restrictions the truck was not built. It
was not until 1948 that a Ward LaFrance Pumper was purchased which had a
two door open cab.
During The Second World War, most of the senior members
went off to war and therefore the task of firefighting fell to the Junior Firemen many of
whom were still in high school. A Ford
Truck with a booster tank and reel was designated as their truck and was useful for brush
fires, which occurred frequently along the railroad right of way.
Just one year later in 1949, a “John Bean” High Pressure Fog Truck was purchased. This truck had two hose reels with high-pressure guns that discharged 30 GPM at 600 psi. This truck was very efficient at putting out fires with a minimal amount of water. This truck was damaged by fire at a forest fire and this may have contributed to its demise. Shortly thereafter another “John Bean” High Pressure Fog Truck was purchased in 1959.
