Kingston volunteer firefighters celebrate 90 years
By Charles W. Kim, Managing Editor
After a February 1924 fire heavily destroyed three buildings on Main Street in the historic village, the men came together to form the volunteer Fire Company that has protected residents for the last 90 years.
"There is a lot of history here," Chief Lloyd Mathis said Saturday evening following an afternoon birthday party for the 90-year-old Fire Company. "Today was fantastic."
Intermittent thunder and showers did not dissuade the estimated 150 people who attended the event which featured music, activities and food including a birthday cake.
Chief Mathis said the volunteers received their charter by April and purchased their first truck and were operational by the year’s end.
"We couldn’t do that today with the amount of time it takes to get approved," he said. "We have been in operation ever since."
The Kingston Volunteer Fire Company is part of South Brunswick’s Fire District 3, but is also part of Franklin Townshsip’s fire protection service as well because the village sits at the intersection of three different townships in three different counties.
Chief Mathis said the department needs more volunteers and that it is "aging"
"Volunteers make up 70 percent of all fire departments," Chief Mathis said. "It is a national trend that we are seeing volunteerism starting to drop."
Chief Mathis said that the department has trained many young recruits that grew up around the village, but most end up moving away because they cannot afford to live in the community.
Other potential firefighters simply do not have the time after commuting to either Philadelphia or New York for work.
As the department continues to try and attract more volunteers to bolster its ranks, it is also looking at becoming a partly paid service with some professionals covering the community during the day when most people work.
"It’s a transitional phase we are going through," he said. "If we don’t get more volunteers, we may have to look at going to a paid service."
Chief Mathis said that providing salaries and benefits would mean an increase in the fire district’s tax rate.
He said the department would like to see around 10 new firefighters in the current drive.
"It would give us some flexibility," he said.
Chief Mathis said the department responds to around 270 calls a year including mutual aid calls from Franklin, Princeton and other surrounding communities.
"Most are false fire alarm activation’s," he said. "We get called a lot because they know if the call Kingston, they will get the job done. We work safely and efficiently."
He said that they also have many hotels in South Brunswick that are in the district.
"Almost all of the hotels in South Brunswick are in district 3," he said.
He also said that the nature of fire suppression has greatly changed since the department rolled out on its first call with water as its primary weapon.
"Now it is a science," he said. "We spend a lot of time in training. We do fires, spills, accidents and water rescues."
He said the role of the department is changing and is now an "all hazards" service.
"It used to be a lot simpler," he said.

