Fire company reaches out to community for support By louis c. hochman UPPER FREEHOLD — The Hope Fire Company kicked off its annual fund drive last week to raise enough money for its company side budget expenses. Members of the volunteer fire company, also known as Station 82-1 of Monmouth County, came before the Township Committee on March 23 to bring publicity to the annual fund-raiser. The fire company serves Upper Freehold and Allentown. While the funds for expenses directly related to fire protection services — such as trucks, personal gear, hoses, rescue tools, training programs and the salary of the permanent fire truck driver — are paid by the two towns, the expenses considered to be on the company side of the budget are not. Those expenses can include the costs of uniforms, public utilities, facility maintenance, company administration and the building mortgage. Committeeman David Horsnall said the mortgage is among the larger expenses the company needs to meet. "Thirty years ago the volunteers had the foresight to buy a piece of ground for the location of a new station that would meet the needs of a growing service area," Horsnall said, reading from a prepared statement. "Ten or 12 years ago they put in place serious plans for the building of that station — the one you see today. That ground and station combined with all the architectural (work), engineering and construction costs in excess of $1.6 million," the committeeman added. He said the balance on the mortgage for the site is about $600,000 with a provision to refinance at the end of the year. Fire company officials are hoping to reduce that balance significantly this year, Horsnall said, adding that in the past the fund-raiser has been a success. "To date all of those costs have been met by the volunteers with their fund-raising efforts and with the generous support of many community-minded folks in our two towns," he said. Fire company representatives said although they have usually collected tens of thousands of dollars in past fund-raisers, they don’t have a specific goal for this year. They said any level of support residents can offer will be appreciated. Horsnall urged residents to be generous with donations. "Please, when you get your letter in the mail during the next couple of weeks, reach into your wallet and find the way to help the volunteer members of the Hope Fire Company with their efforts," he said.
DENNIS SYMONS Hope Fire Company Chief Ed Tindall (l) and firefighter Richard Floyd (r) join Upper Freehold Township Mayor Richard Osborn (center) to announce the start of the company’s annual fund-raising campaign.
