North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue
 | |
| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country |
 United States |
| State |
 New Jersey |
| County | Hudson |
| Agency overview[1] | |
| Established | 1999 |
| Staffing | Career |
| Fire chief | Frank Montagne |
| Facilities and equipment | |
| Divisions | 1 |
| Battalions | 2 |
| Stations | 12 |
| Engines | 6 |
| Trucks | 5 |
| Tillers | (4) |
| Platforms | (1) |
| Squads | 4 (rescue pumpers) |
| Rescues | 2 |
| Tenders | 1 |
| HAZMAT | 1 |
| USAR | 2 |
| Fireboats | 2 |
| Light and air | 1 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
| IAFF website | |
North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue provides fire protection and emergency medical services to portions Hudson County, New Jersey. Included in their protection area are the communities of North Bergen, Union City, Weehawken, West New York, and Guttenburg.[1]
History
Discussions to consolidate the North Hudson fire departments began in the early 1980s.[2]
The North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue (NHRFR) was established on January 11, 1999. The former fire departments of North Bergen, Union City, Weehawken, West New York, and Guttenburg were merged to provide a safer, more efficient fire department.[3][4] The department is divided into two battalions, which comprise a fire apparatus fleet of six engines, five ladders, four squads (rescue pumpers), one rescue,two USAR (Urban Search And Rescue) Collapse Rescue units (part of the Metro USAR Collapse Rescue Strike Team), and two fire boats, that operate out of 12 fire stations, located throughout the five communities.
The agency created a new headquarters on Port Imperial Boulevard in West New York in 2007 to serve the waterfront area.[5][6]
North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue was among the many Hudson County agencies that responded to the January 2009 crash of Flight 1549, for which they received accolades from the survivors.[7][8]
In July 2009, North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue began closing their Rescue Company and the rotational closings of three engine companies. The following January, two buildings adjacent to Engine Company 9 burned down while the company was closed.[9]
The organization opened a two-story firehouse in June 2010 at 4300 Kennedy Boulevard, purchased for $1.2 million, and renovated for $1.5 million, in part with a $500,000 federal grant. The building will house Engine Company 5, formerly housed in a building a block away that Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack described as "antiquated", as well as Rescue Company 1. Stack further stated that the Kennedy Boulevard location, which is actually located off Kennedy Boulevard, would give the firefighters easier access to the area, as Kennedy Boulevard is a four-lane road that runs through the entire county, whereas the previous location was situated in the middle of a block. The agency's dispatch center, which was formed 30 years previously, also moved to a new state-of-the-art facility at the new location, as the equipment at its former, less spacious location at 50th Street and Broadway was deemed outdated.[5]
The agency rotated the closing of various firehouses for certain hours in order to save money until July 2010, when it closed two of its firehouses, according to NHRFR chairperson and Weehawken Mayor Richard F. Turner, in order to allow the remaining 12 to stay open 24 hours, and save $500,000 in overtime costs from July 1 until the end of 2010. Turner further disclosed that the newly implemented Strategic Reorganization Plan, which took two years to create, would also save additional funds. Though Turner insisted that this would not affect performance, Dominick Marino, the head of the North Hudson Firefighters Association, reacted to the closings by stating that this would sacrifice response time from certain locations, and that with the closing of Ladder 2, the agency would not have enough firefighters. According to Marino, "Evidence shows that [a ladder and engine] responding at the same time eliminates the circumstances a lot quicker than having to wait." Marino further asserted that the closing of Engine 6 would mean that the entire west area of North Bergen would lose coverage, and that the promotion of 22 people to higher ranks in the last week of June, including 14 captains, five battalion chiefs and two deputies, meant that there was insufficient personnel to keep the houses open. Turner stated that hiring would be considered, based on upcoming retirements.[10] Turner later stated the intention to hire new members in early 2011.[11]
The agency's 2010 budget, which was passed on August 17, 2010, is $55.9 million, a 3% increase from the previous year's budget of $54.2 million, with the largest increase in health benefits, which are covered by Horizon Blue Cross. (The NHRFR was previously covered by Cigna.) The August 17 meeting also saw the passing of a resolution allowing the agency to pay contractual terminal benefits, or retirement packages, to firefighters over the course of the five years following their retirement, instead of entirely within the year of their retirement. This resolution followed the passing a New Jersey state law (N.J.S.A.40A:4-53) that NHRFR officials indicated supersedes contractual obligations with unions.[11]
On December 12, 2011, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the department's hiring policy discriminated against African-Americans, because it only accepted residents of local towns, who are predominantly Latino and Caucasian. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2007 by the Newark branch of the NAACP on behalf of three black firefighters, was the latest development in a longstanding controversy over whether the NHRFR should hire applicants from outside towns.[12]
In July 2014, the NHRFR launched Marine 1, a new fireboat obtained through a 2010 $1.2 million US Department of Homeland Security port security grant. Marine 1 was specially designed by Chief Frank Montagne for the areas served by the NHRFR, which include buildings and walkways situated very close to the edge of the Hudson River. Manufactured by Metal Craft Marine in Ontario, Canada, Marine 1 can operate in less than two feet of water, and carries four hose guns capable of supplying 4,250 gallons of water per minute and 100 gallons of firefighting foam for combustible liquid fire. It is also equipped with infrared cameras and night vision googles. It joins a smaller, 27-foot-long quick response boat that was also acquired through a grant two years earlier. Both fire boats are docked at Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken.[13]
Stations and apparatus
As of May 2015 below is a list of the stations and apparatus of North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue.[14]
| Engine Company | Ladder Company | Squad Company(rescue engine) | Special Unit | Chief | Battalion | Address | Municipality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine 1 | Haz-Mat 1 | 1 | 917 Paterson Plank Rd. | North Bergen | |||
| Squad 1(A Squad Is A Rescue Pumper) | Rescue 1, Rescue 2(Metro USAR Collapse Rescue Unit) | Battalion 2 | 2 | 4300 John F. Kennedy Blvd. | Union City | ||
| Ladder 1 | Squad 2 | Battalion 1 | 1 | 1600 New York Ave. | Union City | ||
| Engine 3 | Ladder 2 | Marine 1, Marine 2 (Fire Boats) | 2 | 1900 Willow Ave. | Weehawken | ||
| Engine 4 | Foam Unit 1 | Deputy 1 | 1 | 541 29th St. | Union City | ||
| Engine 5 | 2 | 4610 Park Ave. | Weehawken | ||||
| Squad 7 | 1 | 11 Port Imperial Blvd. | West New York | ||||
| Engine 9 | Mobile Command Unit | 2 | 6237 John F. Kennedy Blvd. | North Bergen | |||
| Squad 10 | 1 | 6510 Hudson Ave. | West New York | ||||
| Engine 13 | Metro USAR (Urban Search And Rescue) Collapse Rescue Shoring Unit | 2 | 7507 Hudson Ave. | North Bergen | |||
| Tower Ladder 3 | 1 | 4911 Broadway | West New York | ||||
| Ladder 4 | 2 | 428 60th St. | West New York | ||||
| Ladder 5 | 1 | 8311 John F. Kennedy Blvd. | North Bergen | ||||
| Air Cascade Unit 1 | 2 | 6301 Madison St. | Guttenberg |
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue. |
- 1 2 "About". North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ↑ "New Jersey Journal". The New York Times. April 12, 1981. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
- ↑ North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue History page Accessed January 14, 2009
- ↑ Smothers, Ronald (January 12, 1999). "Regional Fire Service Succeeds in Its First Test". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
- 1 2 Tirella, Tricia (June 13, 2010). "New firehouse for regional squad" The Union City Reporter. pp. 3 and 7.
- ↑ North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue at Firefighting News; Accessed June 16, 2010
- ↑ "Miracle on the Hudson' survivors to return to waterfront", The Union City Reporter, July 26, 2009, Page 4
- ↑ Tricia Tirella. "A pat on the back" The Union City Reporter; Pages 5 & 17
- ↑ Hack, Charles. "North Bergen fire ruins two buildings two doors down from closed firehouse" Jersey Journal/NJ.com; January 18, 2010
- ↑ Tirella, Tricia (July 4, 2010). "North Hudson FD closes two firehouses", The Union City Reporter. pp. 3 and 15
- 1 2 Tirella, Tricia (September 5, 2010). "Regional fire dept. budget up 3 percent". The Union City Reporter. pp. 5 and 7.
- ↑ "Briefs". The Union City Reporter. December 18, 2011. pp. 2 and 5.
- ↑ Schwartz, Art (July 27, 2014). "River patrol". The Union City Reporter. pp. 1, 8 and 9.
- ↑ "Locations". North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
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