Welcome to Jackson Station 55

Come one, come all to the Jackson Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 Station 55′s First Annual Beef and Beer fund raising event scheduled for Saturday, May 18 2013 starting at 7:00 p.m. at Station 55 — located at 113 North New Prospect Road.  Everyone will enjoy the evening as we serve our guests a delicious all you can eat $35 per person dinner of sliced tenderloin on French bread, salad, french fries,  dessert and refreshing beverages.  We are also featuring a DJ, hot wing contest, door prizes, a gift raffle and more.

We are there for you every day — can we count on your help?  The members of the Jackson Volunteer Fire Company are responsible for the care, maintenance and upkeep of our own station building.  Recent projects have included an extensive renovation of the apparatus bays that included refurbishing the ceiling, walls and floor.  We are also about to embark on a roof replacement project.  Other future projects will include renovation of the hall and kitchen.  All of these efforts require the necessary funding to keep our Company going strong into the future.  We sincerely appreciate your support by participating in the event.  If for some reason you cannot attend but want to make a donation, please contact any member of the Company or stop by to see on Wednesday evenings starting at about 6:30 p.m.

We are hoping for a huge success — however your help is definitely needed.  Thank you in advance for your participation!

Sincerely,

The members of the Jackson Volunteer Fire Company No. 1

Fire fighters from Stations 55 and 57 encountered heavy fire showing from the roof of a two-story home on arrival at 1 Emory Court on Thursday April 4, 2013 just after 5 a.m.

Tower Ladder 5505 was positioned in the front of the structure and led off with an aerial master stream, followed by several hand lines to suppress the fire.  Ladder 5705 was positioned on Bryant Drive at Emory. Water supply to the scene was provided by 5521, 5411, and 5621.  The home suffered extensive damage but the fire did not extend to houses located on the Side C and D exposures.  The Jackson First Aid Squad stood by at the scene, and was relieved by Quality Medical when they came on duty.  Stations 54 and 56 also responded to the scene.  The Southard Fire Department provided a RIT assignment at the scene, and were relieved by Station 56.  There were no injuries.

The Pleasant Plains Fire Department covered Station 55 & 57 and the Freehold Township Fire Department assisted as well.

A brush fire on Delaware Trail while Station 55 personnel were on the scene of the house fire was extinguished by the Pleasant Plains Department, 5511′s day crew, and NJFFS B-9.

The cause of the house fire is under investigation by the Jackson Police Department and the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Station 55 was dispatched to a working structure fire at the Moon Motel 4650 Route 9 South in Howell for a RIT assignment on Saturday morning March 9 at 0416 hours.  Captain Jack Siedler and the crew on 5521 were positioned on the “C”side of the structure at the Incident Command Post.  The fire originated in a second floor motel room and extended into a balcony eave/soffit around a parapet wall but was stopped from spreading further into the building by Howell fire units from Southard, Adelphia, Freewood Acres and Ramtown with several hand lines and aerial/roof operations.  Station 55 was cleared from the scene at 0550 hours.

A female homeowner was injured in an early morning two-alarm house fire in the Winding Ways section of Jackson on Sunday, March 3, 2013. Fire fighters from Jackson Station 55 and Whitesville Station 57 were dispatched to the 5:15 a.m. alarm and encountered a volume of fire coming from the Penny Lane home’s garage, living room, and attic area. Two Emergency Medical Technicians from Quality Medical Transport, Inc. arrived just prior to the fire department and helped the female resident out of the house to safety.  She was then transported to the hospital. An adult son also living in the house escaped without injury. A second alarm was sounded bringing Jackson Mills Station 54, Cassville Station 56 and the Southard Fire Department to the scene. Jackson Police officers responding to the scene also assisted the nearby neighbors out of homes located adjacent to the structure on fire. The main fire structure suffered substantial damage including destroying a vehicle parked in the garage, while the adjacent homes only experienced exterior heat exposure damage.

Initial arriving fire fighters were presented with a heavy fire condition — with exposures located within 15 feet to the left and right of the home. Their quick knockdown of the fire prevented it from spreading inside the other homes. Two Jackson fire fighters had minor injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office.

A house fire in Jackson on Woodlane Road resulted in heavy smoke and moderate fire damage but no injuries just before 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 27, 2013. Jackson Stations 55, Jackson Mills 54 and the Jackson First Aid Squad responded to the scene, assisted by the Southard Fire Department that helped provide coverage during the fire. The cause of the fire that damaged the unoccupied one-story ranch home is under investigation by the Jackson Police Department and Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office. Fire fighters found smoke coming from the eaves of the home’s roof on arrival. Fire fighters quickly located the seat of the fire on the first floor and were able to stop it from spreading — holding the direct damage to the central portion of the home including a small area of the attic. The fire department turned the scene over to the Jackson Police Department just after 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

Crews from 5511, 5541, and 5701 under the direction of IC Captain Ed Moore did a great job on a February 26 12:10 p.m. oven fire in a Shadow Creek Ct. single-family residence in Westlake.  A fire in the range was out on arrival but resulted in heavy smoke in the residence.  A female homeowner escaped with minor injuries and did not require hospital transport.  Crews ventilated the house.  The damage was contained to the range with no extension.

Fire fighters from Jackson Station 55 had a busy week from Monday January 28 to Friday February 1, 2013.

On Monday night, Jackson Station 55 and Whitesville Station 57 successfully stopped a house  fire from spreading further inside a Whitesville Road residence.  The fire was located in the walls of the first floor living room,and stairwell leading to the second floor.  A wood-burning stove insert had over-heated the fire box, chimney and flue which ignited the structural wood members inside the walls.  First-arriving fire fighters were met by the owners of the house indicating that a family member was still inside fighting the fire.  The male owner was assisted out the door to be checked out by the Jackson First Aid Squad.  Meanwhile, crews on advancing hose lines were able to open up the walls and knock down the fire.  Although the home suffered smoke and some wall and stairwell fire damage, the remainder of the home was intact.  An aggressive but safe approach to stopping the fire paid dividends for the owners.  As Station 55 apparatus were clearing that scene, Stations 54 and 55 were dispatched to another small fire inside the home of a Brookfield Drive condo.  Once the smoke was ventilated and the small fire was extinguished, it was determined that only minor damage occurred due to a melted plastic bucket on the second floor laundry room floor.

Next, early Thursday morning at 0125 hours, Stations 54, 55, 56 and 57 battled a barn storage building fire on Frank Applegate Road.  Fire fighters were faced with a fully involved building with a variety of contents during the middle of a strong wind and rain storm.  Station 55 crews not only fought this fire, but also provided coverage of Station 54 and 55′s area using an Engine and Rescue crew staged at the Kierych Memorial Drive sub-station.  Station 55 cleared the incident well past 0330 hours.

To cap off the week, late Friday afternoon February 1, fire fighters from the day and night shift responded to an inside garbage can fire on Forest Drive and a gas leak call for a home on the northern end of the district, followed by a working structure fire at the Athena Diner on North Route 9 in Howell Township near the Lakewood border.  At this fire, fire fighters from Station 55 performed a variety of responsibilities for the Howell Township incident commander ultimately assisting in an extensive overhaul process including extinguishing a stubborn fire located between old and new roof layers.

All in a week’s work at Station 55.

One adult male occupant residing at Prospect Pointe Apartments, 815 Brewers Bridge Road, Building 16 was forced out of his apartment by an early morning fire on Saturday, January 19, 2013.  Fire fighters from Jackson Station 55 and Whitesville Station 57 arriving to battle the 12:26 a.m. ground floor apartment blaze were confronted by the contents of an entire living room on fire with heavy smoke pouring from the front door and window.  The lone occupant of the apartment had narrowly escaped and was subsequently transported by the Jackson First Aid Squad to Kimball Medical Center for an evaluation.  Fire fighters accomplished a quick knockdown of the fire within about 10 minutes after arrival.  Fire fighters remained on the scene ventilating smoke, checking for fire extension. and removing the burned contents until past two thirty in the morning.  “The fire itself was held to the apartment unit’s living room due to the fantastic job by the first-in engine crew stopping the progression of the fire in its tracks” stated Station 55 Chief Mike Waters.  “The fire apartment suffered extensive smoke and heat damage, however we were very pleased that the rest of the building’s occupants were able to return to their homes shortly after the fire was out” concluded Waters.  The Jackson Mills and Southard Fire Departments assisted with one engine company each.  Several officers from the Jackson Police Department evacuated the building’s residents who were all unharmed.  The Ocean County Fire Marshal and Jackson Fire Bureau are investigating the cause of the fire.  There were no injuries to fire fighters or other emergency personnel.

Station 55 probationary Fire Fighter Trinity Brown was awarded the prestigious Milan “Spike” Baran Toms River Fire Academy Leadership Award at the Academy’s graduation held on Monday evening, January 7.  Trinity was selected from amongst his 14 other classmates in the Fire Fighter I training program.  Candidates are put to the test both physically and mentally as they learn the elements of safe and effective fire fighting techniques and technical subject awareness.  Candidates must satisfactorily complete a written and practical examination in order to graduate.  It is a requirement that all fire fighters attain their level I state certification within one year of joining the department.

Trinity was chosen from candidates from several other departments including Toms River and Jackson.  The award is given to the person that demonstrates the best leadership and high scores on quizzes, tests and the practical exam.  The award is named in honor of one of the now deceased founders of the Academy who was instrumental in its development.

“We are extremely proud of probationary Fire Fighter Brown and his accomplishment” stated Chief Mike Waters. “He is off to an exceptional start and is a strong role model for our members — especially those that are newer to the department.”

Station 55 responded mutual aid to the Southard Fire Department Howell Township as Rapid Intervention Team to a structure fire on Friday, December 28, 2012 at 2044 hours.  Engine 5521′s crew and Assistant Chief Mike Waters 5510 handled the RIT assignment.  The two-story single family residence located on Kent Road had heavy fire coming from the second story and roof on arrival.  Station 54 was subsequently called for a tanker assignment, bringing 5411 and 5408 to the scene.  Station 54 was later diverted to the Southard station on Route 9 to stand-by.

Station 55 was released from the scene at around 2330 hours.