Where do Ship Bottom Firefighters Come From? Often, a Local Business

When someone urgently needs help from Ship Bottom Volunteer Fire Company, a group of local business owners is ready to respond, rushing from building sites, health care practices, and meetings to gear up, get on a fire truck, and help their neighbors.

Volunteer firefighting is a rewarding, exciting, and important way to support the people who support your business, said Scott Peraria of Scott Peraria Builders, John Volpe of Volpe Construction Services, Dr. Peter Maschal of LBI Chiropractic Center, Dan English of Causeway Glass, and Duane Watlington of VRLBI.com.

“This is how I give back to the community that helps me so much,” said Watlington, who owns a vacation rental marketing business and is a firefighter and fire company vice president.

Firefighters who work in Ship Bottom play a key role in community safety, said Ship Bottom Fire Chief Todd MacLennan. “Many volunteers commute elsewhere for work, which means they cannot quickly respond to local emergencies during working hours,” he said. “Our local business owners who volunteer – or support their employees who volunteer – help ensure we have full response crews no matter when an emergency happens.”

Varied Backgrounds Make the Fire Company Strong

How do home builders, a chiropractor, a glass installer and a vacation home marketer know how to save lives and property? The fire company’s free, comprehensive training and practice drills. Gear is also free.

“No first-response experience is necessary to join the fire company,” said English, the glass installer. “We need more volunteers and encourage anyone who is interested to get involved.” Community members can visit shipbottomfirefighters.org to sign up, learn more, or ask questions.

Business owners who each bring a unique set of non-firefighting skills make Ship Bottom Volunteer Fire Company stronger.

The fire company “has all the elements of everything I do as a business owner – equipment, personnel, appreciating and depreciating assets, oversight of utilities, purchasing, facilities management, training,” said home contractor Volpe, a firefighter who is also the fire
company’s engineer and a trustee.

The discipline of running a business has helped Peraria, who was an interior firefighter for many years, in his current role as company treasurer. “Business owners have on the top of our minds cost
effectiveness. Sometimes, with prices going through the roof and funding lagging, you have to be very creative to find the solution.”

Business owners bring people skills and marketing skills. Sometimes, they even bring a work crew to paint or make station repairs.

Achieving Balance

“The fire company is good about balancing priorities – family, work, and firefighting,” said Dr. Maschal, the chiropractor. “You do what you can to help.”

Volpe handles fleet maintenance as fire company engineer, a role that, with planning, conforms to his work schedule. “In the evenings, I can go in and do any minor maintenance requests that come my way,” he said. When fire company vehicle repair requires outside assistance, Volpe meets the vendor at a time convenient for him and his business. “As a business owner, we have a unique ability to take an hour here or there, as long as we schedule it,” he said.

Some businesses are seasonal – and not necessarily in the way one would expect in a shore town. By the time the summer crowd reaches Long Beach Island, the properties Watlington markets are full of vacationers and the pace of his work eases, allowing him to respond to more calls. For some businesses, like construction, weather can slow down the schedule. Sometimes volunteering ebbs and flows with family life. Dr. Maschal and Watlington both found extra time to give when their kids got older.

All firefighters are encouraged to respond to every call they can make, said Chief MacLennan, but of course every firefighter can’t make every call. That’s part of why more Ship Bottom firefighters are
needed. “More hands make the job quicker and easier and make the overall load lighter, too,” he said.

Firefighting Benefits Business

Customers appreciate what firefighters do. Just before Christmas, Dr. Maschal responded to a 4:30 a.m. fire. “I thought I’d be back in time for work, but the fire had other ideas,” he said. Maschal’s wife,
Laura, called patients to reschedule and left a note on the door. Everyone understood. “All of my patients are great,” he said. “They know I’m a firefighter. They understand that when duty
calls, I need to go.”

“I’m helping my customers rent homes,” Watlington said. “They know that one day, it could be their home on fire.”

The public’s awareness of firefighters can help forge new customer relationships. People have noticed Volpe’s company truck at the firehouse, he said. “People tend to appreciate it when they realize you’re a volunteer firefighter with a commitment to their community. It brings
a tremendous amount of goodwill and trust to the relationship.”

Firefighting is a networking bonanza, said Watlington. “You build these deep friendships with all the other volunteers. You also meet other business people, politicians, and the public at community events and their homes.”

A healthy community, healthy businesses, and a healthy fire company all support each other, Peraria said. “The heartbeat of a successful community is volunteerism,” he said. “The fire company is a great way to do that, and the pride of helping out your community is a big thing.”

Ship Bottom Volunteer Fire Company seeks volunteers in a variety of roles. Please visit: shipbottomfirefighters.org