Voters have approved the construction of a garage behind the Manalapan Township Volunteer Fire Company firehouse on Sweetmans Lane.
The special election was called by the Board of Fire Commissioners of Fire District 2 and held on June 20.
Joseph Spevak, secretary of the board, said the referendum was approved in a vote of 24 yes to 4 no votes. The total includes four absentee ballots.
According to the board, the garage will be used for the storage and repair of fire apparatus and equipment.
The project will be paid for from existing capital reserves and/or bonds or notes of the fire district in an amount not to exceed $500,000, according to the board.
Spevak said a contract for the construction of the garage could be awarded this summer, with a possible completion date in early 2016. The 50- by 80-foot, 4,000- square-foot structure will be half concrete and half metal.
The commissioners are hoping to bring the project in at a cost under $500,000, he said.
The Manalapan Township Volunteer Fire Company has between 25 and 30 active members who responded to between 450 and 500 calls for assistance in 2014, according to Spevak.
The total number of calls includes fires, motor vehicle accidents, fire alarms that sound when a fire is not present, carbon monoxide detector alarms and other incidents, he said.
Spevak estimated that between responding to fires in Manalapan and providing mutual aid at fire scenes in neighboring communities, the fire company responded to between 100 and 150 fires in 2014.