MILLVILLE — The bell on Ladder 39 outside the Millville Fire Department rang 239 times Monday night.
There was no alarm. Instead, the bell tolled once for each of the....Continue Reading
Contributed by: CBrining
Millville firefighters line up along Ladder 39 for a ceremony commemorating the 239 department members who have died since the department was founded 132 years ago.
Posted: Monday, May 14, 2012 9:07 pm | Updated: 9:11 pm, Mon May 14, 2012.
MILLVILLE — The bell on Ladder 39 outside the Millville Fire Department rang 239 times Monday night.
There was no alarm. Instead, the bell tolled once for each of the....Continue Reading
Fire Chief Kurt Hess said Monday’s simple, solemn ceremony was the first of what he hopes will be an annual event in honor of the men who have served in the Fire Department.
Hess said he got the idea for the ceremony during last year’s Sept. 11 commemorative event, during which the names of all the firefighters who died in the World Trade Center collapse were read. Hess said he thought it would be a good idea to do the same thing for local firefighters.
“We want to honor the men who came before us,” Hess said.
So on Monday, city firefighters took turns reading the names of the department’s deceased members. That included five – charter member James Downs and Harry Cossaboon, Tom Corson, Grover Young and Jack Murphy — who died in the line of the duty.
Firefighter Scott Haley stood at the front of Ladder 39, ringing its bell each time a name was read.
Hess said the Fire Department was founded 132 years ago by a few men who met in a barn on Smith Street between 2nd and 3rd streets.
The men founded what was then called the Resolution Hose Company No.3, Hess said. He said it’s possible that the department took that name because that’s what was written on the used firefighting equipment they employed.
That first department started with 46 men. The department now has 12 career firefighters and 55 volunteer firefighters, Hess said.
“I hope this helps the young guys remember the history of the Fire Department,” he said. “I think that’s important.”
Contact Thomas Barlas:
609-226-9197
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