We are writing in response to a recent letter to the editor which the Tri-Town News published from D.C. O’Connell regarding the response time of the personnel from Fire District No. 2 to an alarm activation at Jackson Memorial High School.
The incident in question occurred on Jan. 28, 2013. It was the writer’s contention that the response time of the first arriving fire apparatus was “over 15 minutes.”
Unfortunately, before writing to the newspaper, the writer made no effort to seek any information from anyone at the fire district to obtain the facts about that particular call, nor does it seem that any attempt was made to contact the Jackson School District Board of Education either.
According to data retrieved from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Communications Division (the entity which dispatches all Jackson fire companies), the call that morning was dispatched to firefighters at 9:59:12 a.m.
The first truck signed on the radio with the sheriff’s department responding at 10:02:14 a.m. (a mere 3:02 after dispatch) and arrived on scene at Jackson Memorial High School at 10:10:08 a.m. That is just under eight minutes of travel time and a total response time of just under 11 minutes.
Fire District No. 2 comprises approximately 65 square miles of Jackson, so eight minutes of travel time and an 11-minute response time is within our average, if not slightly below.
The writer suggests that perhaps the state should step in to remedy this issue and goes on to opine that perhaps paid firefighters are needed to hasten our response.
Again, the lack of even an iota of cursory research shines through in this person’s letter. The first arriving fire apparatus (Unit 5621) was an engine company staffed with three career (i.e., paid) firefighters who are on duty in Fire District No. 2 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The second due apparatus was a mutual aid engine company from Fire District No. 1, which is staffed with two to three career firefighters from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
So what happened that day? Why did the writer believe the response time was “over 15 minutes?”
As it turns out, it appears there was a delay in the time the alarm was received by the Board of Education’s alarm company and them calling the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department to request a response.
That delay was caused by the Board of Education’s maintenance department attempting to put the alarm on test, as they were doing work in the building that caused a false alarm. Since the alarm company ultimately dispatched the fire companies to the alarm, it can be assumed that the proper authorization was not obtained to cancel the alarm activation, but the attempt did, in fact, delay the timely notification of the sheriff’s department and therefore the fire companies.
We are unable to determine on our end exactly how much time was lost from the time of the activation until we were dispatched, but if the writer claims the response was “over 15 minutes” then it is safe to assume there was a minimum of a fourminute delay caused by the attempt to cancel the alarm.
The writer may have been correct about the time in which he or she was made to wait to see the fire department arrive on scene, but they were incorrect to assume the delay was totally the fault of the fire department.
In the future, we would ask that before someone writes to the newspapers to complain about the level of service we are providing, that we are at least given the courtesy to fully explain the events that led to their dissatisfaction.
In addition, it is unfortunate that some of the students were made to exit the building in nothing more than a T-shirt; however, the school personnel should be commended for making the right decision to evacuate their students with due haste and forgo wasting time letting them get jackets or warmer clothing.
Obviously, a little discomfort from the cold is a much better outcome than what could have happened if they delayed their evacuation to get properly outfitted and lost the opportunity to safely exit the building.
To be clear, we welcome these critiques from the public, as our service to the residents of Jackson only improves if we hold ourselves to the highest standards possible. We are always open to hearing from the public about how we can improve the level of service we provide.
If anyone has any questions or concerns about the career firefighters or the volunteer firefighters of Fire District No. 2, please do not hesitate to contact us at 732- 928-9100 or stop in to our headquarters on Miller Avenue.
As I stated, the career firefighters are there Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (unless they are on a call) and the volunteers are there every Tuesday night for drill. The public is always welcome at the firehouse.
Matt Genovese
Past Chief/
Acting Public Information Officer
Cassville Volunteer
Fire Company No.1
Jackson