About Stafford Township Volunteer Fire Co. #1
Stafford Volunteer Fire Co. was founded on July 24th, 1922. Originally known as The Manahawkin Volunteer Fire Co. which was incorporated on October 9th 1922. On July 24th a meeting was held at the National Hotel to organize a fire company that would service the township of Stafford in Manahawkin. At the time the towns folk elected the first executive and line officers and would be as followed.
Executive Board:
President: Stephen Johnson
Vice President: Paul B. Cramer
Recording Secretary: J. Lawrence Fenimore Jr.
Trustee: George Bowen
Trustee: George Fredrickson
Trustee: Harvey Cranmer
Trustee: Alex H Inman
Trustee: Edward T. Elberson
Auditor: Wm. B. Sprague
Auditor: Warren Aker
Line Officers:
Chief: George Pharo
Assistant Chief: Leon Hazleton
Back in the day members had to pay a $1 due each year for membership. Meetings were held on the first Monday of each month and the bylaws were officially red in December of 1923. However due to the changes to the fire company and fire service these bylaws have been amended or changed at least 3 times since then.
In 1923 we acquired our first piece of fire equipment. 24 buckets, 4 ladders and 100 ft of 3/4” rope. Now we no longer use buckets and have apparatus designed to carry water and hoses to fires. However the need for buckets was short lived when in 1924 the company acquired our first engine. This was a major leap for the company. We purchased a 1924 Red Fire Engine with a Hale rotary pump that also included a pump booster and chemical tanks. This cost the department $4355.00 We accepted delivery of this apparatus on July 5th 1924. In 1925 electrical lights were installed into the firehouse, the Fire Company held a “Ham and Baked Bean dinner” and raised a profit of $98.53. Fast forward to Memorial Day of 1927 we attended our first Parade in Beach Haven and all men that were riding on the engine were required dressed in overalls. That is how we obtained our first cup for Best Equipped Apparatus. On the 4th of July in 1927 we held a dinner to raise money and proceeded to bring in a profit of $569.13. It will be noted that at the time of this event a large part of our success was due to the woman of the folks in our town.
In 1927 we also joined the Ocean County Fireman’s Association. In 1928 we had our first insurance policy taken out for 20 members of our company. In 1930 we bought a second hand siren from Seaside Park Fire Company. In 1931 Franklin Southgate was elected to treasurer. He had held this position for many years efficently and was trusted by the whole company with 100% backing.
Now you may be asking, “But your trucks say Stafford Township Volunteer Fire Company. Not Manahawkin Fire Company, Why is that?” Great question! On October 9th of 1936 the name of the fire company was changed to Stafford Township Volunteer Fire Company and has been that way ever since. Dont worry we still provide the same coverage and won’t get mad if you call us Manahawkin Fire Company.
In 1974 a major addition was added to our fire company was the Ladies Auxiliary which is still in effect today! This organization helped the fire company in many ways behind the scene bringing us to what we are. They furnished the entire firehouse including the kitchen which enabled the fire company to pay all the money we had owed on the building. Without that we would have never been able to burn our mortgage papers. In 1950 arraignments were made to purchase a lot on Stafford ave where the Stafford House once stood. New plans were drawn for a new firehouse and were approved by the company.
In 1951 we were able to buy a new fire truck! A Mack Fire Truck was purchased and we also bought the lot on Stafford Ave. When we advertised that we were looking for bids for a new firehouse we had many come to the plate. Ultimately we awarded the bid to Herbert G. Cranmer & Son. Work started on the building in July of 1951. We got a loan with Chester Cranmer at a low interest rate however not having the full amount to be able to pay our contract amount with Herbert G. Cranmer, they graciously gave us a extension of time. By 1955 we bought a new fire truck which was a second Mack truck and it is the only thing connected with the fire company that wasn’t yet paid for.
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Fast forward to today!
Stafford Township Volunteer Fire Company is a 100% VOLUNTEER fire company which is ready to answer calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including holidays! We cover roughly 54 square miles. We have 3 firehouses that service the Township of Stafford. The firehouses are as follows; Downtown (Main Station off of Stafford Ave), Ocean Acres (Sub Station off of Nautilus Drive) and our newest firehouse which is located in Stafford Park (Right by DPW). Not only do we cover Stafford Township, but we also cover the Garden State Parkway as well as Route 9, Route 72 and we also cover waterways including the causeway bridge. Stafford Township Volunteer Fire Company is also one of a couple of Firefighter Assistance Search Team AKA FAST team in Ocean County. This means that we do go mutual aid to other towns incase a firefighter goes down during a structure fire, but we always make sure we have members available to cover our town as well.
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We take the greatest pride in our firehouse. Members can be seen cleaning the firehouse inside and out to washing and detailing our trucks and are always ready for that call to come in! You cannot find a better firehouse, better equipped company and a better firefighting crew of our size in the State of New Jersey! As things have changed over time since 1922 and you can see our firehouse has evolved too! This is due to not just our awesome volunteers but the continued support of the residents of Stafford Township! We also cannot talk about a firehouse without talking about our crew! The willingness of our sisterhood and brotherhood of this company to carry on such a great legacy and always remembering the past firefighters that answered their final call. We cannot thank the members of the past for starting up this organization and we will never forget what they did for Stafford Township!
We look forward to seeing our community out at public events! If you are interested in joining check out our how to join page for more information!
Stay safe out there!
