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LAMBERTVILLE: Veteran firefighter honored by city officials

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   LAMBERTVILLE — Firefighting is in Frank L. Kramer Jr.’s genes as a third-generation Lambertville volunteer firefighter who has served for 60 years.
   ”And he still hikes out when the horn blows,” said his wife of 26 years, Sue Winans-Kramer.
   In recognition of his service, which includes various positions within the fire department, the mayor and the City Council recently honored Mr. Kramer with a proclamation.
   His devotion to service even leaked over into his private life during his courting days.
   Ms. Kramer recalled an evening early in their courtship when her future-husband escorted her to a pole fire on Quarry Street.
   ”We were on a date in Lambertville and the pole fire was on Quarry Street, up around the city garage,” said Mrs. Kramer, a published author and journalist who formerly wrote for The Beacon.
   ”It really was funny because I didn’t think I (just a citizen) should be on a fire scene. But Frank, being a deputy chief, said it was OK and he took me and I got to meet Gene Venettone, the chief of the department. I was really impressed. And it was OK that I was there.”
   A pole fire is just one of the many fires Mr. Kramer, 78, has responded to throughout his long career. Much more serious and deadly were the two natural gas explosions and subsequent fires on one frigid, 9-degree day in 1971.
   Two houses on York Street were destroyed and eight people were killed. Among them were neighborhood women who died in the second explosion after preparing coffee and nourishment for firefighters who had responded to the first explosion. The headline of one newspaper that February announced, “A Sickly Scent of Horror.” It was the second such incident in four months.
   Mr. Kramer expressed his appreciation for the honor bestowed by the city.
   He said, “I think it was a very nice gesture on the part of the mayor and council. It has been an honor and privilege to serve the residents of Lambertville for the past 60 years. I was raised in the fire service (and growing up, I was in the firehouse every day. My grandfather, father and my son, Frank III, have all been members of the Fleet Wing Hook & Ladder Co. No. 3. I hope to keep serving the residents of Lambertville as long as God is willing.”
   He joined the Fleetwing Hook and Ladder Fire Co. in 1951. Since 1974, he has been the secretary of the New Jersey Firemen’s Relief Association.
   Mr. Kramer is the fire department’s safety officer. He has held numerous positions over the years, including fire commissioner, deputy chief and department chief.
   His father, Frank L. Kramer Sr., was twice the city’s fire chief.
   He is sergeant-at-arms for the New Jersey Senate. He and his wife operate Harry K. Kramer and Son Memorials in Lambertville. He has been employed by the Lambertville Water Company, the National Guard, the Department of Defense and United Water.