By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
LAWRENCE — The Lawrenceville Fire Co. is the last of the three volunteer fire companies to have been organized in Lawrence, but it will be leading the annual Mercer County Firemen’s Association parade on Oct. 3.
That’s because the Lawrenceville Fire Co. is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The fire company was organized in February 1915, partly as a means to reduce fire insurance rates. The initial roster was made up of 40 volunteers.
The Mercer County Firemen’s Association Fire Prevention parade, which kicks off at 1 p.m. on the corner of Lawrencia Drive and the Lawrenceville-Pennington Road, caps the fire company’s yearlong celebration, which included a formal dinner and dance.
About 100 fire trucks, ambulances, a bag pipe band and assorted marchers — from virtually every fire department in Mercer County, and a few from Burlington, Camden, Hunterdon and Morris counties — will step along the Lawrenceville-Pennington Road to Route 206/Main Street.
The parade participants will march along Route 206/Main Street to Gordon Avenue and the Lawrenceville Fire Co.’s firehouse at 64 Phillips Avenue. A reviewing stand will be set up in Weeden Park, next to the Lawrenceville Post Office.
Once the marchers reach the firehouse, there will be food and beverages, and some children’s entertainment that includes a “bounce house.” Fire Chief Gary M. Wasko said there are plans to hand out nearly 40 trophies in categories such as the best-appearing fire apparatus.
A memorial service also is planned for deceased members of the Lawrenceville Fire Co.
This is the first time since 2007 that the annual firemen’s association parade has been held in Lawrence Township, Chief Wasko said. That was the year that the Slackwood Volunteer Fire Co. celebrated its 100th anniversary and hosted the parade.
Chief Wasko, who has been a volunteer firefighter for nearly 25 years — first at the Lawrence Road Fire Co., and since 2004 at the Lawrenceville Fire Co. — said he was honored to be able to lead this year’s fire prevention parade.
“It’s truly an honor to be able to lead the company in the parade (as it celebrates its centennial),” Chief Wasko said. He has served as fire chief for the past four years. His father, Gary A. Wasko, is a past deputy fire chief at the Lawrenceville Fire Co.
“I grew up in the fire service,” Chief Wasko said. “I watched my father live the volunteer firefighter’s life and raise a family at the same time. Clearly, this is something that I wanted to do. Having the history here makes it a little sweeter.”
The membership of the Lawrenceville Fire Co. includes college students, engineers, business professionals and landscapers, said Deputy Fire Chief Raymond Nagy. He is also the fire company president. Women are welcomed as members, and the company counts several among its roster of 20 active firefighters.
When the Lawrenceville Fire Co. was organized in 1915, volunteers were handed a hose and an axe and pronounced firefighters. Today, they are required to through a four-month-long, 170-hour course to learn how to put out a fire.
Would-be volunteer firefighters learn about the chemistry and behavior of fire, how to wear self-contained breathing apparatus — an air tank and mask — and how to use a fire extinguisher, force their way into a locked room or building, put up and climb a ladder, and how to use a fire hose and nozzle.
They learn how to search a room for victims, as well as how to pull down walls and ceilings to make sure they did not miss hidden fire after extinguishing the flames.
They learn about sprinkler systems, which help to contain a fire to the room where it started, and how to tie knots because they may have to send a tool up to another firefighter in an upper story of a building.
While the Lawrenceville Fire Co. has experienced fewer major fires over the past years because of efforts in fire prevention and public awareness, the volunteers still responded to more than 700 calls last year — most of which were false alarms.
