[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24573]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



      HONORING THE RAMSEY FIRE DEPARTMENT ON ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARGE ROUKEMA

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 7, 1999

  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Ramsey Fire 
Department on its 100th Anniversary. This volunteer unit is one of the 
finest in New Jersey and deserves the thanks and support of every 
resident of our community.
  Volunteer firefighters are among the most dedicated public servants 
in our communities. They set aside their own convenience--indeed, their 
own safety--to protect the lives and property of their neighbors and 
ask nothing in return. Volunteer firefighters turn out to do their duty 
in the darkness of freezing winter nights and in the heat of 
suffocating summer days without hesitation.
  The Ramsey Fire Department was established in 1899 with 32 original 
members. The new fire company made a $25 deposit on their first fire 
engine, an 1885 Babcock Chemical Wagon purchased second-hand from the 
Rutherford Fire Department. The Dater family of Ramsey donated property 
near the railroad tracks for the first firehouse, built at a cost of 
$197, and the Ramsey Fire Department was in business. The first alarm 
was a brush fire near the tracks in April and the first building fire 
followed in January 1900.
  The department grew quickly during the early years of the century, 
soon adding a horse-drawn ladder wagon and going to motorized fire 
trucks in 1912. A modern pumper was added in 1927 and the Ladies 
Auxiliary was founded in 1935 with 23 charter members. Additional 
equipment was purchased in subsequent years and the Island Avenue fire 
station constructed in 1951 to accommodate the growing fleet. A 
substation in the form of a three-bay addition to the borough garage 
was added in the 1960s. The 1970s saw the formation of the Junior Fire 
Brigade to encourage young people to become involved and a conversion 
from the traditional ``fire engine red'' paint scheme on equipment to 
lime yellow.
  The Ramsey Fire Department has twice received the Box 54 Unit 
Citation Award from the New Jersey-New York Volunteer Firemen's 
Association for daring rescues, once in 1975 and again in 1984. In 
1981, the department found itself the victim of arson when fire 
destroyed the second floor of the Island Avenue building. The building 
was repaired and rededicated the next year.
  Major renovations of the fire department headquarters on Island 
Avenue were completed in 1992, including a room to display antique fire 
apparatus, a new radio room, a chief officer's room, an office for 
administrative officers and a 150-foot radio communications tower. 
Since 1996, the headquarters building has been known as the Robert E. 
Litchult Fire Safety Building in honor of Litchult, who served a record 
63 years with the department.
  Responding to nationwide difficulties in recruiting volunteer 
firefighters, the department in 1994 formed a Recruitment and Retention 
Program to solicit new members.
  Throughout its long and distinguished history, the Ramsey Fire 
Department has protected both lives and property through 
professionalism, dedication and skill of its many members. The 
department has grown vastly in personnel, equipment and other 
resources. Today, it is among the finest firefighting organizations in 
the State of New Jersey. Members constantly train to improve 
performance in order to do their jobs as safely and efficiently as 
possible.
  The Ramsey Fire Department has come a long way from its founding. 
Today's state-of-the-art fire engines and high-tech equipment put 
Ramsey on par with any other fire department in the region. But it 
takes more than equipment and buildings to run a fire department. It 
takes dedicated, hard-working individuals willing to put the safety and 
property of their neighbors first. People like President Ken Bell and 
Fire Chief George Sutherland and all the officers and firefighters of 
the Ramsey Fire Department deserve our most special thanks.
  The Ramsey Fire Department was founded 100 years ago on the principle 
of neighbors helping neighbors. That principal has made the department 
a success and will continue to do so in the future.
  I would like to ask my colleagues in the House to join me in 
congratulating the Ramsey Fire Department on 100 years of meritorious 
service to the community, and in paying tribute to the brave and 
dedicated firefighters who have sacrificed personal safety in response 
to the needs of others. All past and present members of this very 
professional ``volunteer'' fire department deserve our deepest thanks 
for their work on the behalf of our community.

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