Lack of donations fires up volunteers
Businesses in No. Brunswick said to not support Fire Department
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer
North Brunswick is divided into three volunteer fire companies. Each company has roughly 40 volunteers who respond to activated fire alarms, water flow alarms, residential fires, commercial and industrial problems, motor vehicle accidents, extrication and rescue attempts, and HAZMAT spills 24 hours a day, seven days a week. About 1,100 calls come in each year, translating into about three calls each day or one call per fire company per day. Of those, 60 to 70 percent, or 600 to 700 calls, are to local businesses.

However, many of those same businesses do not donate during the fire department's yearly industrial fund drive, according to Paul A. Pappas Sr., the president of the township fire department. He is asking businesses to take into consideration the high cost of operations and maintenance of services in North Brunswick during the final donation push for 2007. He said that each fire company needs a minimum of $200,000 to run, while only receiving a $60,000 stipend each from the township, per state law, and roughly $15,000 to $20,000 through each company's own residential fund drive. In addition, the fundraising letters themselves can cost thousands of dollars to print and mail.

"At any given time, a pump could blow, a ladder could go bad. These things do happen to all of us. There are valves that go bad, there are pumps that go bad. All the different kinds of mechanical systems need to be replaced or repaired, and that is a huge cost to us," he said.

Pappas said that of the approximately 1,200 businesses located in town, only 89 donated a total of $9,000 in 2006 and around $23,000 to date this year. He said he has sent letters, made phone calls and personally visited sites throughout the year, although either the wrong person handles the flier, someone throws it out, or owners claim they are too busy to consider donating.

"I am extremely disappointed in the major businesses up and down the Route 1 and Route 130 corridor," he said. "It's not that they don't know."

Pappas said some businesses are visited once a week by the department, and some receive about 80 calls over the course of the year. He said that although some businesses claim that firefighting services should be included in the tax bill, North Brunswick is not yet a fire district and instead operates on a 100 percent volunteer basis. He said that per the requirements of a fire district, the businesses would pay a fee, which is adjusted per their square footage, and residents would suffer because of even higher tax bills; instead, he said voluntary donations would be a better alternative.

Nonetheless, each company still has mortgages to pay and payments to make on any fire trucks they purchase, which could cost anywhere between $500,000 and $1 million.

"A lot of times, we have a meeting of the minds to find out how to replace the next fire truck which is 18 to 20 years old right now. How are we going to afford to pay it if we can't cut when we do our budget at the beginning of the year?" Pappas said, noting that changing the tires of a truck alone can cost over $3,000.

And, nonetheless, each volunteer still needs to respond to fight a fire. With a five-minute response time, the members must be ready at a moment's notice, according to Pappas. Some firefighters can go to a fire at 3 a.m. and then report to work at 6 a.m., or take a day off without any compensation.

"These calls come at the most inopportune times. The calls come during Thanksgiving dinner. What do you say, 'My turkey tastes better'? No, you go," the trustee of Company No. 3 said.

On the other hand, Pappas said the fire department is greatly appreciative of the businesses that do offer their support. He specifically noted Bristol-Myers Squibb, who coordinates a grant program every year with the fire companies to donate supplies instead of money. This year, the pharmaceutical industry donated three thermal-imaging cameras, worth $15,000 each, to each of the fire companies.

But when the other funds are not received through donations, each company must hold card nights, baseball card nights and flower sales to bring in money, and some also receive revenue from cell towers that are located on their properties, Pappas said.

Any businesses, large or small, can send a check payable to the North Brunswick Volunteer Fire Department Industrial Fund Drive, P.O. Box 7725, North Brunswick 08902-7725.

Residents should contact their local fire company for individual donation information.

Pappas can be reached at (732) 406- 8027 or (732) 247-0922, ext. 697.